Blazing Star
by Katsgold
Summary: After the events in Rising Star, Murdock's life begins a change as he is forced to face the grueling challenges of being as both a Chopper Pilot and a CIA Agent in he unforgiving jungles of Vietnam.
1. Chapter 1

Originally written under my nic: Murdock's Doc

Warnings: Violence, Anguish, Lot's of Foul language.

Disclaimer: The A-Team is the property of Stephen J. Cannell and my writing is not to make money or to obtain fame. I write to show my appreciation of a show that is in my opinion, one of the classics in time.

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Trapped in a shell of darkness, drifting through time and space, a lone figure struggles for some control over his mind. "Naevi cang!(No more!)" He cried out, unaware if he had formed the words or merely thought them. He knew that his body existed, but he had no control over it. There was no ability to escape the darkness or the constant sounds that pressed into his mind. "Dung lai (Stop!)" In an observation booth, a doctor and his assistant watched their patient begin to fight the restraints that held him in place. "I believe we've reached our subject's absorption limitation." The Doctor said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Do you want to use the drugs in order to continue?" The assistant asked eagerly without looking up from the monitors.

"No." The Doctor said quickly as he mentally reviewed the patient's achievements, "We have successfully implanted a mastery of four languages using hypnosis alone. I think that will be more than sufficient for this operatives projected missions." The Doctor picked up a clipboard and signed the patient's discharge form. "And," he said pausing as he signed the documents, "anything further is likely to cause damage to his thought processes."

"Lay Chua Lay Troi! (Please God!)" The patient whimpered, "Naevi cang! (No more!)

The assistant nodded with disappointment. Experience had taught them that programming a subject under hypnosis caused a temporary mild psychosis. This was acceptable to their employers within the CIA. Unfortunately they had also learned that the use of drugs for programming a subject was best reserved for national emergencies. The process often left the subject with long-term psychological difficulties.

Pushing the negative aspects of his job aside, the lab assistant looked up from the monitors. "I can't help but be curious about this one's actual capabilities. We've never been able to get this far before."

The Doctor nodded absently, "I have to admit, I'm just as curious. It's not often that we get to work with an individual with superior intelligence."

The assistant nodded.

The Doctor shrugged, "Maybe we'll be able to get him back for future testing once his missions are complete." He said tapping a pencil against his clipboard. "Begin the deprogramming, then arrange to have him returned to his quarters."

Several hours later, Murdock woke trembling and gasping desperately for air. The nightmare had seemed so realistic and his body had reacted to the stress of the experience. His heart and head pounded painfully to the same beat, and beads of sweat trickled down his temple from his brow. Memories of the dry burn in his throat from the heavy panting as he ran, the sharp stabs of pain as his bare feet pounding over uneven stones, the rush of adrenaline as he fought to protect himself, and the bitter taste of fear, all replayed through his mind. The feelings that his body had felt and the sights he had seen during the dream seemed real, but they had also been impossible. The Captain shivered again as the adrenaline coursing through his body began to diminish. In the dream he had been fighting off an attack by giant man-eating flying words.

The knowledge that the dream could have been nothing but a bizarre fantasy did little to ease the pain in his head or the knot in his stomach. Pushing and kicking his feet, Murdock freed himself from the sheets that had managed to get tangled around his legs during the nightmare. Once free, the pilot took a few deep breaths and swung his feet over the side of the bed. "Just a dream," He whispered into the empty room.

As soon as the words left his mouth, they repeated themselves silently in his mind. Voices repeating the words he had spoken, each echoing through his head in a different language. Murdock gasped in pain. Reached up with both hands, the pilot cradled his head in shaky hands. "Stop!" He cried out with a cracking voice, only to find the voices echoing through his mind once again. "Stop it!" He screamed out in anger as he braced himself against the repetition. Sliding his hands from the side of his head to cover his eyes he fell back into the bed and curled himself into a ball. 'Why is this happening?' the shivering figure thought to himself. 'Why?'

Three weeks ago he had proudly carried the title of a Thunderbird, and the world had been at his feet. The Captain's eyes watered and he let the tears fall unchecked through his clenched eyes. The CIA had stepped in and in an instant they had completely changed his life.

In the first week, he had received weapons training. A marine the size of a Texas Longhorn bull had snarled, growled and snapped at him until he could shoot a fly off a man's shoulder with a 9 mil and an M-16. The first few days of the second week he had learned the basics of hand to hand combat from a Navy Seal who had refused to call him anything but "puke". The remainder of the second week he had been forced to learn codes from a woman who could make a mule's ass look like the face of a beauty queen. The third week had been reserved for learning the languages he would need to accomplish missions in Southeast Asia.

Shivering, Murdock curled a bit tighter. They had expected him to learn Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and French. He remembered going to the language lab thinking they were nuts. Scrubbing his face with his hands to ease the pain in his head, Murdock thought back to the last thing he remembered about the lab. A short goofy looking guy in a lab coat had rattled off an explanation about hypnosis and how it would be used to accelerate the learning process. Everything else was blank.

"Captain Murdock?" A masculine voice called out impatiently.

With his hands still covering his face, Murdock hissed out "What." Then cringed with the word repeated in the languages that were now floating through his mind.

"The effect will pass in a few hours Captain." An unsympathetic voice informed him.

Even through his pain, Murdock could tell that the information had not been given in order to assure or calm him. It was nothing more than a statement of fact. 'Cold bastard.' Murdock thought in disgust. "Ok-y-do-key." The pilot replied, bracing for the translation effect in his mind. Seconds passed and the repetition he was expecting never came.

Taking a deep breath, Murdock gained a bit of confidence. "What do you want?" The effect was instantaneous as the sentence was translated and repeated in his mind. Groaning, the Captain cringed as he waited for the words to fade.

"Your presence is required in the briefing room." The man said, ignoring the Captain's obvious discomfort. "Now." He added.

"Right-cha-roonie, right behind ya." Murdock said hesitantly. When the sentence didn't repeat he cautiously uncovered his eyes. 'Nonsense words seem to keep the voices in my head from repeating everything I say.' The pilot thought to himself. "Hey'ya, gi'me a minute, will ya?" Murdock asked slurring his words in an exaggerated Texas drawl. Without waiting for an answer the pilot struggled and pulled himself upright on the side of the bed.

"Your presence is required now." The man repeated.

"Gotcha." Murdock replied weakly. "I'ma comin' muchacho."

Staggering slightly, Captain Murdock was escorted into a dimly lit office. When the door closed behind him, the pilot squinted his eyes and searched the room. 'CIA 101, lesson 2, use dark rooms to conduct meetings.' He thought sarcastically to himself. Finally his eyes settled on the outline of a man sitting in a corner.

"Sit down Captain." The man's voice said evenly.

Shrugging his shoulders, "Nutton personal, but I'd like'ta stand."

"Very well," The deep voice from the corner replied. "You are leaving tonight for Vietnam." The man said flatly. After waiting a moment for a reaction and receiving none, the hidden man continued. "You are being assigned to the 40th ARRS, in Da Nang where you will perform your Air Force obligations as a HH-43B Search and Rescue Pilot."

Murdock's eyes widened and his Texas drawl deepened as he spoke. "Lemme get this straight, I go through all this bull shit cloak and dagger training and then ya go an assign me as a chopper pilot workin for the Air Force?"

"That is correct Captain," The man confirmed as if it were an everyday event, "For the time being, you've been designated as a Sleeper for the Company, code named Shadow 12. When circumstances require your talents and skills, you will be contacted."

Murdock watched in silent frustration as the figure in the darkness moved his hand to the arm of the chair. Seconds later the door opened, signaling the return of his escort.

"You are dismissed Captain." The man said.

When you get your walking papers to Nam it seems like time passes in a whirl. There is no time to think, and barely enough time to pack and say good-bye before stepping onto a plane. Every day young men from all over the United States kissed their wives and children or their girlfriends, whispered their undying love then began their journey to a country that only years before had been unknown.

On the last leg of a week long journey into Vietnam, Captain Murdock closed his eyesand remembered his last moments on U.S. soil. It hadn't been the tearful good-byes, the cries of the children clinging to their fathers, or the nervous chatter of young men speculating about their future that had gotten to him, no; it had been the protesters.

Longhaired men and women adorned in brightly colored clothing, beads and flowers had stood outside, preying unmercifully on each and every uniform that had passed. Although he didn't disagreed with their right to an opinion, it was that he just didn't understand the raw hatred towards the very people that fought for the right to freely express opinions.

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The cargo plane carrying him the place he would be calling home for the next two years began to slow. The slight change in the roaring pitch of the engines shook Murdock from his thoughts of the protesters. Although slight, he could feel the plane descending, and knew that they were on the final approach into Da Nang.

Opening his eyes and stretching, the Captain turned in his jump seat along the side of the plane and looked out the window at the landscape below. For as far as the eye could see there was nothing but treetops, littered with occasional trails of smoke rising up through the foliage. From this distance, the land looked peaceful. If he hadn't known there was a war, the sight before him would have convinced him that all was well in the world.

"Sir?" An airman interrupted. Murdock turned to find the airman holding out a flack jacket. "Sir, we're expecting turbulence shortly, and we gotta get everyone suited up."

Murdock raised an eyebrow as he wordlessly accepted the jacket. Without being told, the Captain knew that there was trouble ahead. After quickly slipping the bulky jacket on, he watched the enlisted crew pass jackets out to the remainder of the passengers. They were only half way done when the Captain heard the first "ping" of ordnance ricocheting off the outer shell of the plane. The sound of the plane changed as the flaps went up and began a more pronounced decent. At the instant the flaps raised, the pinging sound became more like the sound of rain against a tin roof.

"We're being shot at!" Shouted a soldier from the back of the plane.

Faces all around the plane paled, and the unspoken fears that had been weighing heavily on everyone's minds was vocalized when someone yelled, "We're all gonna die!"

The Airmen glanced nervously at each other and then occasionally at Murdock as they continued to distribute the jackets at a faster pace. Someone needed to calm the troops, and from the looks given by the Airmen, it looked like they were expecting the senior officer among the passengers to do something.

Murdock felt panic rising up from his gut. Give him a plane or a chopper and he could bring it under control, but troops were another story. He had no experience taking charge of a group of men. The Captain had an overwhelming feeling of dread join the already existing feeling of panic when an Airman began making his way towards him.

Realizing that his lack of experience made very little difference at this point, Murdock decided that he might be able to at least create a distraction. 'Time to prove that you deserve your bars.' Murdock thought to himself as he began to rise up from his seat.

Halfway to his feet, Murdock felt something collide against his back. As his breath rushed out in a single whoosh he was propelled forward into the cargo pallets stacked in the center of the plane. It felt as if a giant hand had reached out and slapped him heavily on the back. Gripped the cargo net for dear life and thanking God that he had been wearing the flack jacket, the Captain forced air back into his lungs.

"You alright sir?" Asked the airman who had been on his way to ask the Captain for assistance.

"Am Fine." Murdock hissed while pushing himself away from the cargo. The words had been the first he had spoken in days. Even though the voices had receded to occasional whispers, he had been cautious about speaking. Unfortunately, what he had to say would take more than just a few words, and he silently prayed that the silence in his mind would continue. "Get the passengers to make themselves smaller targets." The Captain said firmly. Somewhere on the plane a soldier cried out in fear.

"Sir?" The airman asked looking confused, "I don't understand."

Murdock looked impatient. "Make the jackets take the blunt of the attack, have them bend their heads forward. Then have them bring their feet up on their seats." Those who had heard the Captain's instructions followed them immediately. The rest followed suit as the airman began to shout instructions.

'Now what?' Murdock thought to himself. Remembering something his grandpa had always drummed into his head whenever he had a problem, Murdock began to think of a theatrical situation that was similar to the one he was in now. 'If you don't have the experience to handle something, use any example you can get.' Images of the "Duke" began to pop into his head. 'How would John Wayne handle this?" Murdock thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, the Captain prayed that he would be able to create the distraction needed to calm the troops.

Before he opened his mouth to begin, he began to face self- doubt. 'This is crazy' Murdock thought to himself, 'No one is going to buy it.' He looked around and found several scared faces staring up at him waiting for his leadership. 'They're just scared kids,' He thought sadly. 'You're just a kid too!' His mind screamed back. 'Their gonna laugh at you making an ass out of yourself,' his mind taunted, 'But at least for a moment they won't be scared.' That was enough to convince him to do it. Succeed or fail, the Captain knew he had to create a distraction.

Letting his memory dictate his body moves he began to strut down the aisle of the plane. At that instant, he let himself become John Wayne. "Men!" He called out, "I'm goin' a tell you something, and I want you to listen, and I want you to listen good. It may sound like I'm talkin' about me, but I'm not, I'm talkin' about you. As a matter of fact, I'm talkin' about all people here." He stopped and shook his head, and was surprised to find that he had everyone's undivided attention. The plane was still being hit, but the frequency was lessening. Turning he started strutting the way he had come.

"Now I know in boot camp ya learned out of a book. Out here you've gotta remember the book and learn a thousand things that have never been printed, probably never will be. You gotta learn right and ya gotta learn fast." Murdock stood taller, and his voice deeper and more serious, "When I came down here to Viet-nam I was lookin' for somethin'. I didn't know what." He turned and headed toward the back of the plane again. 'I should have majored in acting,' he thought to himself.

As he continued, the Captain noticed that the pinging sounds had died down to an occasional strike. "Before I came here, I was empty. Well, I'm not empty any more. That's what's important. To feel useful in this old world. To hit a lick against what's wrong, or to say a word for what's right, even though you get walloped for saying that word. Out here, due process is a bullet, and we're gonna go out there an show em what's right and what's wrong." Murdock stopped and placed both hands on his hips and glanced around the plane. "Are you with me boy's?"

"HOORAY!" Shouted the soldiers, "HOORAY!"

"GOOD!" Murdock shouted back as his right arm dipped and raised over his head. "YOU MAKE ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!" Starting back to his seat, the Captain reached out and shook hands with the various soldiers as he passed them, offering words of encouragement. "Give 'em hell soldier," then to another, "Leave none standing soldier," and finally, "Go out there and show em what American's are made of."

As Captain Murdock dropped into his seat, he offered his co- passengers a thumbs up and a toothy smile, 'I've got to be losing my mind,' He thought to himself as he continued his act for the men, 'It worked.'

The minute the hatch of the plane opened, the oppressive jungle air filled the cabin. The humidity that came with the heat carried a putrid decaying scent along with it. 'This is the smell of war.' Murdock thought to himself as he fought the reflexive twisting in his stomach.

Captain Murdock remained seated even though his rank gave him the privilege of exiting first. 'No. The ground is their sanctuary, let them reach it first. Let them find comfort in their element.' He thought, remembering a particularly interesting lesson in college. From his seat, he watched the soldiers lined up at the door, and he sighed, wondering just how much good his degrees in Philosophy and Aerodynamics were going to help him during his stay in hell. 'Not much.' He answered himself. His first experience in country told him that he would be better served by a degree in Psychology or Acting.

When the first man stepped off the plane someone on the ground began to yell. "Get your goddamn sorry asses off my plane! Move it! Get your sorry selves lined up so your units can get you FNG's out of here!"

Inside the plane, Murdock stood up and glanced out of the window, unsure of exactly what he should be doing.

"Hey!" Someone called out from the front of the plane, causing Murdock to turn away from the window. "You're the new pilot for the Jolly Greens aren't you?" Asked the pilot as he and his co-pilot stepped out of the cockpit. The Colonel reached out his hand in greeting. "I'm Allen Yohn, and this is my co-pilot Jim Kelly."

"Yes sir." Murdock responded to the Colonel as covered the distance between them. When he neared the two pilots, he reached out and clasped the Colonel's hand and shook it. "Names H.M. Murdock." The Captain said turning his head towards the new round of yelling from outside the plane.

"Don't worry," The Colonel said as he nodded his head towards the herding that was taking place with the new troops, "They won't treat you the same, they still have some semblance of respect for Officers."

Murdock smiled as he turned his head back to his fellow pilots, "I appreciate the info Colonel." The Captain paused slightly and briefly glanced out the hatch, "Ah Colonel, what is a FNG?"

The copilot grinned and looked to the Colonel to explain. "Mean's Fuckin' New Guy," the seasoned pilot explained with a laugh, "You'll be hearing yourself described as that and several other things until you're no longer the new guy." The Colonel said with a grin. "The grunts get the worst of it, but you'll be hearing a share of it."

"I can hardly wait." Murdock said dryly.

"Come on, we've got to report in at Headquarters, we'll show you where you need to report in." The Colonel offered, "After all, it's the least we can do for what you did back here when we passed through that hot zone."

"Thanks." Murdock replied as he grabbed his pack. "Is it always that interesting when ya come through Da Nang?"

"More or less," The co-pilot said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Mostly it's just harassment." The Colonel said as he stepped off the plane. "They don't usually do much damage."

Murdock followed the Colonel down, vividly remembering the impact against his jacket. "I don't suppose they leave the helicopters alone do they?"

The co-pilot looked serious as he joined the others, and that was enough of an answer for the Captain. "How long you been flying helo's?" Kelly asked, tactfully changing the subject.

Murdock smiled, remembering his first helicopter flight, "As often as I could for the past 4 years."

"What were you flying before you got your ticket to paradise?" The Colonel asked leading the group through the maze of people and buildings.

"Jet's mostly," Murdock admitted, "But I can fly just about anything."

The Colonel and his copilot glanced at each other with the same look of confusion. Neither had heard of a jet pilot being stationed with helo's. "What unit did you just come from," Kelly asked without disguising his curiosity.

"Thunderbirds." Murdock replied as he glanced around the base. He was so distracted by the activity around him that he almost smacked into the Colonel who had come to a dead stop.

"You're shitting me, aren't you?" The Colonel asked in disbelief, "THE Thunderbirds, as in U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds?"

"Sure." Murdock confirmed with a nod. "One and the same."

"Damn." The Colonel said looking over the Captain with a new outlook, "Damn." He repeated, "Who the hell did you piss off?"

"Huh?" Murdock asked in confusion.

"What the heck is one of the Air Forces best and supposedly brightest pilots doing in Da Nang as a Chopper pilot." The co-pilot explained. "You had to have pissed someone off, either that or your nuts."

"I guess that's it then." Murdock said with a grin.

"What?" The Colonel asked.

"I guess I'm nuts." Murdock said still smiling, "I volunteered." The moment the words left his mouth, an accusing voice in the back of his mind whispered 'Liar. You were blackmailed.'

The Colonel shook his head in disbelief. "You are certifiably mad."

"Yep, that's me, Howlin Mad Murdock," the Captain responded proudly, "I'm just livin' up to my call sign."

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Murdock enjoyed talking with his fellow pilots and thanked them when they left him standing in front of a building that boldly displayed a sign, "40th ARRS - Jolly Green's - So others may live." For several long minutes, Murdock stood in front of the Jolly Greens HQ, staring at the sign. From the very beginning, he had felt pushed and bribed, and he hadn't liked that feeling one bit. But all said and done, the Jolly Green's motto wassomething that he could live with. 'So that others may live.' He repeated in his mind, 'Yah, that's something worth being proud of.'

Entering the building, Murdock was surprised to find that the building was in fact a single room. Before he could figure out who he was suppose to report to, a voice thundered out. "What the fuck do you want!"

"Captain Murdock reporting for duty," Murdock quickly responded, and when he noted that the question had come from a Colonel, he added, "Sir."

The Colonel stood up and lazily made his way to stand in front of the newly reporting officer. "So you're the fuckin' Thunderbird pansy ass I got stuck with." The Colonel glanced up and down the Captain before him, contempt written all over his face. "I hope you don't expect any fuckin' pampering out here Cap-tain."

"No sir." Murdock responded dryly. 'You eat with that mouth?' His mind silently added.

The Colonel glared at him, then began to pace. "I ask for a god-damn helicopter pilot and I get a fuckin' spoiled prima-donna candy ass." The Colonel stopped and pointed a finger into Murdock's face. "I want you to know up front Captain, I don't have the fuckin time to baby-sit my goddamn pilot's. You fuck-up and I'll have your ass. Got that?"

Murdock looked at the Colonel with a mask of neutrality, "Yes sir, I understand." The Captain pulled his orders from his jacket and offered them to the Colonel. "If that is all sir, these are my orders."

The Colonel snatched the document from Murdock's hand. "I'm going to enjoy knocking that smart ass attitude out of you." He threatened. "Johnson! Get this FNG out of my sight."

"Sir, yes sir!" A red haired sergeant said quickly, "Follow me sir." He said heading for the door.

Murdock shifted his bag over his shoulder and followed the sergeant out. Once safely outside he turned and asked, "Does he always talk like that or did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed today."

The enlisted man shrugged, "He's been sorta ticked off since we received notification that you were coming in."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Johnson said glancing back at the HQ, "I heard him talkin about the Thunderbirds once, and I guess he tried to get into the unit a couple of times and wasn't accepted." He looked up at the Captain. "He told the other officers that it was a private club only brown nosers get into."

Murdock frowned. "That's not true," He defended.

"Me and the guys think he said that because he couldn't get in." Johnson said easily. "Me, I think it's neat that you were in the Thunderbirds."

"You ever see one of the shows?" Murdock asked.

Johnson's freckled face looked up with a smile. "Sure. It was amazing."

The two talked about the Thunderbirds and the workings of the Da Nang Jolly Greens as Johnson took him to supply for his field issued and then to his hooch. The place he was to call home during his stay in Vietnam was nothing more than a hard sided tent.

"Go ahead and drop your stuff into the empty locker and I'll take ya down to the flight line to meet the rest of the squad." Johnson said cheerfully.

Stepping inside the tent, Murdock looked around at his new abode. Four bunks, four foot lockers, ammo can's and cardboard boxes set up as night stands, and the center pole strung with laundry lines and pornography. Sighing, he took the lock off his bag, then dropped the bag into an empty footlocker before slipping the lock through the loop on the hasp.

Outside, Johnson was waiting for him. "Is your tent like that too?" Murdock asked, still finding the pigpen difficult to accept.

"There are eight guys in our tent," Johnson said with a shake of his head, "Officer's hooches are a LOT better."

'But I bet yours is at least clean.' Murdock thought as he followed the fast moving sergeant as he headed towards the flight line.

Introductions went well, which Murdock was grateful for. LtCol "Dung" Shipton a gray haired, short Korean War vet was the squad leader, Captain "Trumpet" Jarvis, a blond, 5'8" native of North Dakota was the next senior, and finally Captain "Monkey" Murray, a grumpy Irishman from Boston, made up the pilots of Murdock's new squad.

"You're gonna take over Jolly Green 24," Shipton said pointing to a HH-43B sitting a short distance away. "You might as well go over and introduce yourself to your crew. Since the Colonel say's your primed to go, you're expected to join the party when we go on patrol after chow."

Murdock nodded and considered asking for a clarification about what the Colonel had said, but decided to talk about it till after he had a chance to get into the air. Grinning broadly the Captain headed to meet his crew.

There were three in his crew, a co-pilot Lt. "Birdy" Long, a native of Brooklyn New York, his Flight Engineer Sgt. Trombetta, and his Pararescueman Sgt. Wendel a fellow Texan, Murdock spent the next few hours crawling in, under and over his bird. When he had come across the weapons mounted just inside the back doors he was mildly surprised. Search and Rescue choppers were not supposed to be armed. Turing around, Murdock found his Flight Engineer staring. The Captain looked from the Engineer to the gun and then back.

"When we find them, we prefer to bring them back alive." Trombetta said without being asked the question. Murdock nodded then continued his inspection of the bird.

By 1430, four choppers were in the air. Splitting into pairs, they headed north to patrol the area just south of the US lines.

"Jolly Green 26 to 24, are ya bored yet?"

"Negative 26, how can ya be bored when you're in the air?" Murdock joked back. Thankfully there were enough similarities between the communications between jets and choppers that he was able to slip right into the routine.

"Probably going to be a quiet day," Jolly Green 26 responded back.

Murphy's law dictates that something always happens when you least expect it, and it held true for the Jolly Green's. "MAYDAY MAYDAY, our position is overrun. MAYDAY, MAYDAY we've got too many casualties to retreat.

"Mayday is received, what's your location." Jolly Green 26 responded.

The frantic voice over the radio identified his unit and his general location. "I read you Delta 4-1-5, on our way and should be in orbit in 15." Murdock listened as Captain Murray contacted base for escort and assist, and then to the Jolly Green's 25 and 27 to stand by. "You ready 24?" Murray asked.

"Affirmative, I'm right above and behind you." Murdock responded. Glancing back at his Flight Engineer, Murdock asked, "Are you a good shot with that pop gun?"

"Yes sir, one of the best." Trombetta responded with a determined look.

"Good." Murdock said under his breath as he turned to focus his concentration on the mission.

Nearing the location given with the Mayday, four faster moving gunships joined the bulkier SAR choppers. "Jolly Green 26, Sandies 4,5, 7 and 9 are going in to soften up the area. We'll try to keep them busy while you drop, pickup and get the hell out of Dodge."

"Roger that, Sandy 4." Murray responded.

In unison, the four faster moving, heavily armed choppers dipped down over the tree. They immediately drew heavy fire as the SAR choppers slipped past the line towards the stranded troops. "Pop your smoke!" Murray called out to Delta 415.

When the red smoke began to drift into the air, Murray and Murdock headed for it. Murray went in first and as he began to land, men began to appear at the tree line, some running, some limping, some dragging or carrying along the injured who were unable to make it on their own. As Murdock began to bring his bird down he almost lost it when Trombetta began to fire into the treeline on the opposite side.

"Hurry up!" Shouted Trombetta as Wendel jumped out and began helping the stragglers into the chopper.

"Sandy 4, we got unfriendlies pouring out on us can you help?" Murdock shouted out over the radio. In front, Murray began to lift.

"On my way." Sandy 4 called back. "Keep your head down and I'll pass over."

"Damn it! Where the hell they all coming from!" Shouted Trombetta as he continued to fire at the advancing NVA.

Murdock glanced at the remaining two stragglers, one being carried over the shoulder of the other. The gunship passed overhead and began firing into the treeline, forcing the NVA to retreat back for cover.

"I got them to go back, but it isn't going to last." Sandy 4 called out over the radio. "Get the hell out of there."

Behind him, Wendel helped the last soldier into the chopper, "GO!" He shouted as he turned his attention to the injured.

Murdock didn't have to be told a second time. He brought the chopper up hard and began to chase Jolly Green 26 home.

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Death announces itself to all things living in a variety of ways, the end of movement, a body's decrease in temperature, and the smell. The smell of death is the first thing sensed and the last thing forgotten. The scent is unique in nature, a combination of all things bad. It's the smell of a body that can no longer control of it's bladder and bowels, mixed with the acidic aroma of fear and the sickly sweet scent of blood. It's a scent that saturates the delicate tissues of the sinuses and the mouth, forcing the living to remember.

By the time the skids of Murdock's chopper set down, tears were streaming down the pilot's face and his head was spinning as fast as the chopper's rotors. The open back doors in flight had done little to whisk away the smell, or drown the sound of anguished cries and sobs from those in emotional or physical pain.

As soon as the chopper landed, Murdock cut power and poured himself out of the cockpit. Grabbing the frame of the chopper to support his shaky legs, Murdock glanced into the back of the chopper as a team of medic's ran forward to help unload. Caught in a living nightmare, the Captain watched the able bodied as they exited first. Their shoulders were stooped in defeat and their eyes were empty and haunted. Some stayed to help with the walking wounded, but most stumbled away as if in deep shock.

The first site Murdock got of the wounded was the torn stub of what had once been a leg. The face that belonged to the stub was drawn and pale, his eyes unfocused. The Captain's breath caught in his throat as reality caught up with him and hit him painfully in the gut. "My god." He whispered as his stomach began to churn again and his mouth watered in warning.

Despite the oppressive heat, Murdock felt cold as he watched the wounded being unloaded. When he could take the sight no longer, the Captain looked down, only to shiver in horror to watch blood dripped onto the skids. A loud slap of something hitting inside the chopper brought Murdock's gaze up. Horror mixed with confusion as he watched the medic's walk away. A quick glance in the back of the chopper revealed that three men were left behind.

"Where are they going?" Murdock asked his crew in a voice bordering on hysteria. "Are they going to come back?"

Wendel looked at the Flight Engineer then back at the Pilot. "These guy's don't need medical help." He said sadly. Murdock looked back blankly, not understanding. Wendel shook his head then stooped down and grabbed a thick black bag and began to slip it over one of the men lying in the back.

The pilot watched in morbid denial as the pararescueman worked. The face of the man Wendel was working on was so peaceful, so calm. Murdock reached out to stop the Sergeant but he froze when Wendel turned the body on its side. The Captain paled and his hand began to shake. Half-stumbling the Captain began to back away, the vision of the missing portion of the man's head firmly imprinted on his mind.

Turning, Murdock ran, tripping and stumbling to the scattered patches of grass along the landing pad. Falling into the grass on his hands and knees, the Captain gave into the nausea brought on by the smells and the sights of war. Hanging his head he took one fine deep breath and he felt his gut twist and heave. He gagged when stomach acids raced up the back of his throat and out though his nose. Before he could gasp his lunch followed the acid up, then violently out his mouth. Murdock sobbed, then gagged again, continuing to vomit until nothing was left.

With his nose and mouth still draining and his head hung in misery, Murdock felt a hand upon his shoulder. "It's okay Captain, we all go through this on our first mission."

The Pilot wiped his sleeve across his face and pushed himself up on his knees. "How do ya deal with it Birdy?" He asked with a cracking voice.

Lt. Long handed Murdock a canteen and waited as the Captain took a swig to rinse his mouth. "Everybody's different, drinking, drugs, whoring, or fantasy." The co-pilot said with a shrug, "Me, I spend a lot of time writing to my wife."

"Some choices." Murdock said rubbing his face vigorously. "Maybe, I'll get a dog or something."

The co-pilot frown, "Ah, it doesn't pay to get close to the dogs or cats around here. Trust me on that one." He said reaching out a hand to help the pilot to his feet.

Accepting the hand, Murdock rose to his feet then bent down, placing his hands on his knees. Taking a deep breath, the Captain tried to pull himself together. "Why's that?"

"Dog is a delicacy to the local's," Birdy said with a shutter. "Poor half starved things run around the base scavenging for food, and sure enough some GI feels sorry for it, starts fattening it up then poof, it ends up over a cook fire."

"That's gross." Murdock said glancing up at his copilot.

The co-pilot sighed, "This is a different world that what we're used to."

"Man," Murdock said as he brought himself to a fully standing position. The expression on his face held a look of disbelief. Murdock held up his hand, "Birdy," he said, feeling his stomach warn him that it couldn't tolerate a discussion on the native cuisine. "Give me a chance to settle my stomach before you share anymore tips."

"Oh." Birdy said with a touch of guilt. "Sorry about that."

Murdock took a deep breath, "It's okay Birdy, I really appreciate the info, but would prefer it later." He glanced over at his helicopter and felt his stomach twist again, "Is . . . . is . . . Are the bodies gone?" Murdock said with a gulp.

"Yeah, we're getting ready to clean the bird, and the guys and I thought it would be a good idea for you to join us." The co-pilot said glancing over at the chopper himself.

Murdock lost any color that he had regained. "I . . "

The Lieutenant shook his head and interrupted Murdock. "Listen, I know the smell got to ya, it gets to us too. We clean the chopper with a gallon or two of ammonia and it kinda serves a dual purpose, it cuts the odor in the bird, and it seems to burn out any smell that's gotten into your head." He looked at Murdock with understanding, "It's your choice but if ya don't join us then you'll be smelling the blood during you're sleep."

"I guess anything to get rid of the smell can't be all bad." Murdock said with a sigh as he wondered how he was going to get rid of the visual images scorched into his mind.

Murdock and his crew scrubbed the interior of the chopper until the ammonia had their eyes watering and their hands stinging. Birdy had been right, the chemical smell overpowered and burned away the traces of death and injury. It seemed to be cheating, but for the moment Murdock considered it survival. As he worked, the Captain listened to the others talk. At first their joking around seemed tasteless and disrespectful to those that had died, but the more he listened, the more the pilot realized that the chatter was a way his crew dealt with the stress of performing their job.

The darkness during the night holds no power to hide a weeks worth of memories gained in a war zone. The memories combined the senses of sight, sound, smell, and touch, heart pounding nightmares which tormented those who could sleep and taunted those who avoided sleep.

After tossing and turning in his bunk for a couple hours, Murdock decided that sleep would be impossible. After letting out a heavy sigh, the newest member of the Jolly Green's rolled out of his bunk and headed out of the hooch to do a little star gazing.

Stepping out into the hot humid night air, Murdock plopped down near the corner of the tent and looked up into the sky. Wisps of smoke from distant battlegrounds masked the stars to the point that only a few of the brightest stars could be seen. Focusing on the brightest star, Murdock began to think of his mother. 'I miss you mama.' the Captain thought to himself. 'I know I haven't talked much to you since you died, but you always said you'd be there to talk to me even after you were gone if I needed to talk.' He sighed heavily before continuing his silent conversation. 'I think maybe I need to talk.'

The sound of someone snorting then spitting pulled distracted the young pilot from his thoughts. "Hello?" he whispered softly.

"Couldn't sleep either huh?" Captain Murray said with a drunken slur.

"Naw," Murdock responded with embarrassment, "I just wanted to find out what stars were up in the sky tonight."

"Howlin Mad." Murray began.

"Yeah?" Murdock responded.

"You're lying." Murray accused.

"Yeah." Murdock responded softly.

"Don't worry about one sleepless night." Murray advised. "It happens to all of us at one time to time."

"I kinda figured that." Murdock replied.

The conversation quieted for a moment, and Murdock could hear Murray struggling to stand up. Once Murray got on his feet, Murdock watched the shadow of his fellow pilot stumble toward him. The Texan remained quiet until the Irishman sat down a next to him.

"You're drunk" Murdock stated.

"Yepper doggie." Murray confirmed with a chuckle as he offered his bottle to the younger man. "Wanna join me?"

Murdock stared at the bottle being extended towards him and considered refusing the drink, but it had been a long hard week, and maybe the stuff would help him relax.

Murray saw the hesitation. "Ga ahead kid, ya got a Scottish name so ya just can't refuse an Irishman offering a gesture of friendship." Murray said extending the bottle further.

"That makes no sense Monkey." Murdock pointed out using Murray's call sign.

"Murdock." Murray said with a snort, "When you're drunk, everything makes sense."

Having everything make sense was something Murdock longed for at the moment. "What the hell," the young pilot said as he took possession of the bottle.

The next morning, Murdock groaned in protest as someone kicked his boots. "10 more minutes grandma." he mumbled as he tried to roll over and go back to sleep. Unfortunately the tapping on his boot continued.

"Get you're asses up!" Ltcol Shipton snapped. "Murray you good for nothin bum, get UP!"

Murray groaned as he lifted himself up off the ground, "Man, I keep saying I'll never do that again, and look what I went and did."

"I feel like shit." Murdock complained.

Shipton folded his arms across his chest and glared at his men. "Well you both look and smell like shit. Murray, you know the routine, shower, change your clothes, swallow a fist full of aspirin, and meet the rest of us for chow.

"Yeah, yeah," Murray said grabbing Murdock by the arm. "Let's go kid."

"Ain't a kid," Murdock protested as the two men half stumbled towards the shower tent.

"You're a fuckin' baby faced kid," Murray snorted, "Still wet behind the ears."

"It's just sweat ya dumb ass." Murdock responded.

Shipton shook his head in annoyance as he watched his two men leave for the showers. Although it was annoying to wake up early to wake up a couple of drunks, the Ltcol was silently happy that Murdock had hooked up with Murray the night before. The kid needed an outlet for the tension that had built up in him over the past week, and Murray was a harmless role model.

"Better drinking than drugs, huh Colonel?" Captain Jarvis asked as he approached his CO.

Shipton nodded. "Always, Trumpet, always."

Part 5

A few hours later, a sobered Murdock followed the rest of the Jolly Green pilots to the air field. Today was their down day, and Shipton wanted all crews to inspect and clean their birds to ready for another week of hell. The newbie to the group smiled as he remembered his fellow pilots giving Shipton a hard time about having to work each and every day of the week, but that's as far as it went. Each pilot knew the importance of preventative maintenance.

When the pilots reached the choppers, they split up and headed to their own birds. As Murdock approached Jolly Green 24, he heard the chatter of his crew as they worked. The Captain smiled. He liked everyone on his crew, and he felt that they were getting to like him as well.

Lt. Long spotted Murdock approaching and snapped off a sloppy salute to acknowledge the Captain's approach. The Lt. smiled when Murdock returned the salute with a smile. When Murdock reached the chopper, and before he could join his crew in conversation, an airman came running towards the chopper.

"SCRAMBLE!" The airman shouted with excitement while waving a folded paper in the air. "SCRAMBLE!" He repeated.

On instinct alone, the crew reacted. Trombetta and Wendel grabbed the buckets and sponges and tossed them away from the chopper as Murdock and Long took their seats and began the start up procedures.

When the airman reached the chopper, he handed Murdock the order and backed off. The Captain looked at the order long enough to know which direction to head before passing it to Lt. Long. As the co-pilot read the full order Murdock lifted off and headed north.

LtCol Shipton had heard a chopper take off, and he hadn't thought anything of it. A few minutes after he had heard the chopper leave, Shipton look over to see how the squad's new pilot was doing and found him gone and in the chopper's place an airman stood watching the horizon. Leaving a few choice words in his wake, the LtCol raced to catch the airman.

"Where in the hell did JG 24 go?" The squad leader demanded in a booming voice as he came up behind the airman.

The airman ducked as if a bomb had exploded behind him. He was midway down when he realized that the sound had been an angry officer. Turning he took on an expression that said, "Please don't kill the messenger." After taking a step back he said, "Headquarters received a retrieval request from an Army RECON team. The Colonel said to give it to Jolly Green 24 and that they were to go alone."

"Damn it!" Snapped the squad leader, "Where are they going? What channel are they tuned into?"

The kid paled, "I. . . I don't know sir; the message was to be delivered unread. I was just following the Colonel's orders."

"That Bastard!" The Lieutenant Colonel hissed under his breath as he turned and raced back to his chopper.

"MONKEY! TRUMPET!" Shipton yelled out. "GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!"

There was no hesitation from either of the officers. When they gathered around their Squad Leader they immediately noticed the fire in his eyes.

"What's up boss man?" Captain Jarvis asked.

"Murdock received orders from the Colonel to retrieve a RECON team." Shipton growled.

"Huh?" Captain Murray said with a confused expression. "Since when does the CO detail any particular chopper for an assignment."

"Exactly." Shipton spit out.

"You mean those orders didn't go through you first?" Jarvis asked in disbelief.

Murray paled, "Why would Colonel Martin break SOP and send a newbie out on a RECON retrieval? Those kind of missions are tough and we always go in pairs."

"Mannnnnnnn." Captain Jarvis said slapping his forehead. "Jose, my Flight Engineer told me that Johnson told him that Martin was rough with Murdock the day he arrived, something about knocking the attitude out of him."

"Why the hell didn't you say something Trumpet?" Shipton snarled, "It's all of our jobs to take care of the newbies." The LtCol let out a frustrated breath. It was normal for the squad to watch each other's back when facing the enemy, but now they had to keep an eye on the CO as well.

Nearly invisible in the mist and the thick underbrush, a soldier snakes across the jungle floor from tree to bush to fallen log until he drops to the ground along the break in the jungle. There he pauses a moment to be sure that his movement have not disturbed the sounds and activity of nature around him. Once sure that nothing had alerted any potential watchers of his presence, he crawls through the mud a few feet to what looked like a mound of grass and brush. "Colonel, our ride is on its way."

"ETA?" Whispered the hidden figure.

"Maybe 15 minutes," the soldier responses in a hushed tone that was easily covered by the chatter of monkey's overhead.

"They're over there." The Colonel whispers as he peers through a small pair of binoculars. "I can smell em," he insists.

The soldier frowns. With his face in the mud and vegetation, there was no way to smell anything but the pungent scent of decay. "Colonel, we lost them over four clicks back, how could they be here?"

The Colonel shifts slightly and passes the binoculars to the soldier beside him. "Watch the trees on the other side, between 10 and 1 o'clock." He whispers with a twinkle in his eyes.

Taking the binoculars, the soldier frowns then lifts them, and slowly scans the area that the Colonel had indicated. His frown deepens when he spots the movement in the shadows. Hissing out a curse, he asks, "What's the plan Colonel? There's no way a choppers gonna make it into the LZ with those gooks waiting."

Flashing the soldier a toothy smile, he said, "While I prefer a more direct approach, we're too low on ammo to make it worth the effort. Instead, I think we'll give our friends some exercise." Taking back the binoculars, the Colonel scans the area again. "Do you see how the field curves around on their right flank?"

"Yeah." The soldier mutters in confusion.

"Get on the horn to the chopper again. Tell them to mock a LZ approach over there." The Colonel said pointing to the wide open field about a click from their position. The Colonel's eyes grew bright with self-satisfaction as he visualized the plan, "When the gooks go running in that direction, the chopper goes up, drops into the original LZ position, and we're out of here with no problem." The Colonel turned back to watch the activity on the opposite side of the field. "Piece of cake."

The soldier shrugged his grass-covered shoulders and headed back to the radioman. After a week deep in country it didn't matter how they got out, just as long as they got out alive. Smith was legendary for his plans, but it seemed to rely too much on the NVA chasing the helicopter. No matter what he thought the soldier trusted the Colonel. Of all the unit's Smith had the highest return rate. "Sparky, you're not going to believe this . . ." The messenger whispered as he neared the radioman.

"Lemme guess, front door again?" The radioman said quietly with a knowing frown. It wasn't as that he would argue with any of the Colonel's plans, but they always seemed to come from a movie script filled with suspense and action.

"Naw, more like sneaking in the back window this time." The messenger whispered back with an amused gleam in his eye. "He's gonna get us home like always."

In the air, Jolly Green 24 was flying in the low level clouds, at time, skimming across the tops of the trees over the mountains, then high above the ground through the valley's as they headed for the rendezvous point. There hadn't been any activity so far, but the hair on the back of Murdock's neck stood up, reflecting the nervousness that had fallen over his crew since discovering that they had been sent on the retrieval mission solo.

"Jolly Green, this is Red Nine, rendezvous has shifted southeast two marks over a half click, repeat, rendezvous has shifted southeast two marks over a half a click." The radio squawked out. "Original LZ is hot."

"I read you Red Nine, we are within a short orbital range and should be visible. Copy?" Murdock responded with a nervous glance over at his co-pilot as he dipped the chopper out of the security of the clouds.

"Contact made. You will be making one plus one landings. New zone is ghost. Original zone is hot."

Murdock glanced over at his co-pilot, "Ghost?"

"It's a fake out." Long explained. "Should we call in the fast movers to clear the zone?" The co-pilot suggested. "If gomers are waiting we won't be able to pick up without risk."

"Let's see what we got before calling in the cavalry." Murdock said as he guided the chopper in an arch towards the southeast section of the clearing. "Maybe there's a reason why we're doing this solo," Murdock added. At the high point of the arch, the Captain glanced back at his crew, "Trombetta, how about to pop off a few shots to get some attention, after that you are in a free fire zone."

"Sure thing Cap," The Flight Engineer called back as he grabbed onto their sole defensive weapon.

"What the hell do you think is going on down there?" Long asked as he scanned the clearing. "I don't see anything so why the fake out?"

Murdock shrugged, "You're the expert here. Maybe RECON want's us to draw their attention before going to the original plan." He grinned and stole a quick glance at the Lieutenant, "But I think it's a good plan."

"It's your call Captain," Long said in a tone that indicated his disapproval. "But I gotta remind you that we're not built for combat and we're running solo."

"Gotcha," Murdock said with a quick glance over at Long. "Guess everybody better hang on back there."

"Huh?" The co-pilot spat out.

The Captain was too busy calculating out the choppers abilities and possible maneuvers to answer. Coming out of the arch, Murdock leveled the chopper and made a pass towards the clearing towards the southeast corner. The chopper dipped below the tree line as they neared the bogus location as it prepared to hover as if running a pickup. As the chopper dropped, and the elephant grass below danced to life, swirling in time with the downdraft.

"Hang on guys!" Lieutenant Long shouted as he began to scan the forest for unfriendlies.

Murdock turned and rocked the chopper as he brought it down to hover a few feet off the ground. There had been no firing to warrant the evasive maneuvers, but he wanted to test the bird's capabilities before they were actually needed. With their hearts in their throats the crew waited for something to happen. Their wait was short, and less than a minute passed before they heard the rounds being fired at a distance. Manning the M-60 on the right, Trombetta cut loose with 50 rounds into the forest edge.

Watching from a distance, the RECON Colonel held up a hand and signaled his squad forward. When the radioman crawled up beside him, the Colonel spoke without taking his eyes off the enemy movements. "Contact the chopper, let them know that they will be overrun in less than two minutes. Have them hold position for 90 seconds."

"They're not going to like it." The radioman commented as he followed the order.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

As the RECON team watched the NVA race towards the chopper, the crew of the chopper watched the oncoming storm of angry bullets. " . . . . you're to hold for 90 seconds," called a voice over the radio static.

"Are they nuts?" Long shouted as he nervously watched the tree line. He knew from experience that the NVA were only shooting blind at the moment and the chances of being hit were pretty slim. The trees on the other hand were sure to be taking casualties. The moment the NVA cleared the trees the story would be different. "Why the wait? The original LZ has got to be clear enough for us to make the hop."

"I won't risk the chopper or my crew." Murdock assured him stiffly, "We've been given instructions, and we follow them unless there's just cause. Keep your eyes open and just give me the facts of what's out there."

Long turned and looked at the Captain. In a flash of an instant, the co-pilot's face reflected a decision being considered. He didn't like the situation he was in, it made him feel further out of control than he normally felt on a rescue. He had his doubts about the situation he was in, but there was something in the pilot's air of confidence that won theLieutenant over. In a second, he came to a decision. "You're the boss," He said before turning back to watch the tree line.

"Here they come!" Shouted the Pararescueman

Wendel's announcement was quickly followed by the sound of bullet's ricocheting off the shell of the chopper. Murdock horizontally inched the chopper away from the advancing troops as Trombetta returned fire, laying a line of lead over the advancing line of North Vietnamese troops.

The enemy firing continued and the hits became more than misses. That was enough for Murdock. The Captain bellowed out an ear-splitting howl as he lifted the bird up like a rocket, and headed south away from the gunfire. Once clear, he turned the chopper, he raced high over the heads of the stunned Vietnamese troops.

With the chopper was safely away, Long shook his head in disbelief. "Did you see their faces? You're fucking crazy Murdock."

Trombetta stuck his head between the two pilots and grinned. "They expected us to head south and run."

Murdock smiled at his crew, but remained silent as his co-pilot and Flight Engineer discussed what had just happened. The Captain didn't have the same luxury. His concentration had to remain focused on getting back to the original LZ before the enemy troops could turn back to meet them. "Jolly Green 24 to RED Nine. Be ready to load, we're coming in fast," Murdock called out over the radio as he brought the chopper back down below the tree line on the opposite end of the clearing.

As the chopper neared the ground, five men darted through the elephant grass, followed by a sixth who followed at a slower, more relaxed pace. Trombetta and Wendel hung onto the side of the open door and leaned out to offer a hand up to the men as they reached the chopper. All five men were stowed in the back by the time the sixth made it to the chopper. Ignoring the hands being offered to help him in the Colonel launched himself up into the chopper and sat in the open door with his feet braced against the skids.

"Everyone's in!" Wendel called up into the cockpit. "Almost," he added under his breath as he glanced at the Colonel.

Lifting the chopper, Murdock turned the chopper back over their first drop point and headed for home. As they passed back over the NVA, the Captain looked back to see a grinning Colonel leaning out and waving a gleeful good-bye to the enemy. Shaking his head, the pilot decided that he didn't want to understand the contrasts that Vietnam was turning out to be.

The trip back to Da Nang was thankfully a quiet one. It almost seemed as if the crew was overwhelmed with the uniqueness of this mission and the cockiness of the RECON team they had just retrieved.

Back at base, Shipton was waiting for Jolly Green 24's return. Pacing back and forth, he mentally reviewed the confrontation he had just come from. Colonel Martin had let him rant for only a few minutes. After that, Martin had ordered him to leave, and he had issued a warning. "All pilot's belong to me, remember that!" Martin had said, leaving no room for argument or discussion. A shiver raced up Shipton's spine as he remembered the look on Martin's face as he ended the conversation. "Murdock is mine and don't you forget it." The LtCol was split between thankfulness that he wasn't Murdock, and a real fear for the kid's life. Martin had it in for the kid.

As the wayward Jolly Green finally made it's appearance, Shipton stepped closer to the point where the chopper would come down. When the chopper finally set down, Shipton ducked down and raced towards the Captain's side of the cockpit. Murdock spotted him and leaped out of the chopper to meet his CO halfway. "What's up sir?" Murdock yelled to be heard over the sound of the rotors as they shut down.

Before Shipton could answer the RECON team passed them as they headed away from the chopper, "Thank's for the lift kid." Colonel Smith called out as he and his men. "Stop into the local pub Friday night and I'll buy ya a beer."

Murdock nodded and waved his acknowledgment to the RECON Colonel before turning back to his CO to wait for an answer.

"We need to talk." Shipton said in an ominous tone.

That night, Murdock sat motionless in his chopper watching the sun set. The conversation with Shipton that afternoon had disturbed him more than the Captain had let on during the conversation. Shipton was worried, and although Murdock had brushed it off, he was worried too. At that moment, while he was alone, Murdock allowed himself the luxury of being the 19 year old kid that he was instead of the experienced 25 year old the rest of the world saw. Tears streamed down his face unchecked as he thought of the pressures that now sat heavily on his shoulders. 'All I wanted to do was fly.' Murdock thought to himself.

Everything had gone fine up until the end of his tour as a Thunderbird. "Lies will catch up with ya, HM." his grandfather had warned. "They caught up with me Grandpa," Murdock said sadly into the empty chopper. "My world is spinning out of control, and if playing spook doesn't get me killed, Colonel Martin or this war will."

Looking through the windshield of his chopper, Murdock looked up into the sky. 'Mama, I'm in over my head, and it's all my fault.' he thought to himself. For a moment Murdock could almost feel his mother's presence, and when that feeling was gone he was left with a vivid memory of a song his mother sang to him when he needed comforting. Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe not. All he knew was that he needed something to help him cope with what was beyond his control, and right now that was just about everything.

Closing his eyes to block out the last views of the setting sun, Murdock began to sing, "You are my sunshine, my only sun shine . . . ."

Returning to base from a simple patrol, Murdock was met by Shipton after he and Murray had landed their choppers. From the look on his CO's face, Murdock knew that it wouldn't be good news. After hopping out of his chopper, Murdock ducked down and ran towards Shipton. "What's up boss?" Murdock shouted over the noise of the choppers.

"Martin wants to see you." Shipton replied in a tone low enough to be heard. When Murdock nodded to acknowledge his CO, Shipton added, "Keep me informed."

Murdock acknowledged with a salute and took off towards the Jolly Green Headquarters. He didn't have a clue as to why Martin had summoned him, but considering how pleasant their first meeting had been, Murdock was pretty sure that this one was going to be just as ugly.

When he arrived, the Captain paused in front of the Jolly Green Head Quarters long enough to gaze at the doors and the Jolly Green motto and mentally reviewed everything that had happened since his arrival. He had done nothing wrong, and in fact, he had done a few things that he could be proud of. Shrugging his shoulders, he figured it would be best to get it over with rather than spend his time guessing.

Stepping into the hardback tent, Murdock found himself alone. "Hello?" He called out. The sound of silence caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end, and the Captain began to suspect that Martin was setting him up for something.

Stepping further into the building, the pilot inched towards the Colonel's desk. "Colonel Martin?" When he reached the desk, Murdock stretched to peer over the desk. Just when he was convinced that he was about to find a dead body behind the desk a hand reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Murdock cried out in surprise as he turned quickly to face whatever had touched him. As he turned he stumbled slightly and knocked over a few items on the Colonel's desk. When he found a sergeant with an amused look on his face the Captain quickly snapped out, "Don't do that!"

"You should be more observant." The sergeant replied flatly.

"I was told that the Colonel wanted to see me." The Captain said loudly to cover his own rattled nerves. "I didn't expect to find anyone lurking in the shadows."

The look on the Sergeant's face turned cold. "We only have a few moments Captain." He said in a serious tone.

"Oh?" Murdock responded curiously, realizing that he had not seen this particular Sergeant in the tent on his last visit.

The Sergeant frowned, "I'm your contact."

The pilot furrowed his brows and eyed the man suspiciously. "Contact for what?" He had been told that he would be contacted when there was a mission, but so soon?

"The empress calls to all who are able." The Sergeant droned sarcastically. "Those who are able will call from the shadows."

Murdock took a deep breath. That was the code that he had been told to expect. "Whatcha got for me?"

The Sergeant pulled an envelope from inside his shirt and opened it. "The Chinese are supplying the NVA with weapons and supplies. We have several operatives inside the supply network who have been sabotaging the equipment and supplies being sent across the border." He pulled a paper from the contents of the envelope and handed it to the Captain. "Three days ago there was a break in our communications line and we've lost contact with the network."

"So you need someone to go in and reestablish communications?" Murdock asked.

"Exactly." The Sergeant responded pulling a small photograph and handing it over. "We need you to go in disguised as a Russian who has been sent to evaluate the possibility of furthering the Communist cause in North Vietnam. You'll meet with this man, Sung Lau Cho." He said indicating the picture, "and ask to evaluate the network. We have already laid the groundwork for your appearance and have set up channel's to confirm your identity if they check." The man looked at the Captain suspiciously. "You do speak Russian don't you?"

"Da, nyet prablyem (Yes, no problem)," Murdock said without thinking as he looked at the pinched face of the Cho character carefully before handing it back. "Der'mo, etot trudnasti (Shit, this is complicated.)"

"English please," The Sergeant snapped.

Murdock looked confused for a moment before realizing that he had been speaking Russian, "Sorry." He apologized quickly. "I said this is complicated. How the heck am I going to get out of here without causing some suspicion, and will anyone really believe that I'm a Russian?"

"Martin will take care of getting you out of here." The sergeant took on a satisfied look. "He won't realize he's doing it though. He has been ordered to give up one of his pilots for a insertion up north."

"And since he obviously doesn't like me, you think he's going to send me." Murdock asked, not liking the thought of how convenient it was that he had been assigned to a unit where the CIA would be able to use his CO's grudge to their advantage.

"Exactly." The Sergeant replied. "After dropping off the Special Forces team, you're going to have mechanical trouble." The man looked carefully at the Captain. "Your chopper will go down and you will be reported MIA for the time it takes to complete the mission."

"What?" Murdock blurted out. "You're expecting me to crash a chopper? Are you nuts?"

The Sergeant ignored the Captains interruption and continued, handing him another slip of paper, "You will be going down at these coordinates. There you will be met by another operative who will supply you with the remainder of the information you need to complete your mission."

After memorizing the coordinates, Murdock handed the paper back to the Sergeant. "What happens when it's over?" He said out loud while thinking, 'What happens if I survive?'

"Simple, you return to friendly lines with a story of how you found your way back through the jungle after going down."

Murdock frowned, "There seems to be so many holes in this plan, I can't see how it will convince to anyone."

"The operative you meet after going down will provide all the information you will need." The Sergeant assured. "We can not take the chance of providing you with all the information up front in case something happens that places you in the hands of the enemy. It's for your own safety as well as in the interest of National Security."

"That's reassuring," Murdock said sarcastically.

"I have to go." The Sergeant said as he started to leave.

Before Murdock could protest or ask any questions, his contact slipped out of the hut. Shaking his head, the Captain reached up and rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension that had begun to grow during the conversation with the mysterious sergeant.


	2. Chapter 2

Originally written under my nic: Murdock's Doc

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As Murdock tried to come to terms with what he had been told Martin barreled in. Snapping to attention, Murdock greeted him. "Captain Murdock reporting as ordered sir." He said crisply. "LtCol Shipton said you wanted to see me after I returned from patrol."

Martin snarled as he moved past the pilot and took his seat behind his desk. "I've been asked to supply a pilot for a special operation insertion." He said flatly, not willing to share the fact that it had not been a request but rather a direct order. "Since you're suppose to be such a hot shot pilot, you're going." His expression betrayed his words. It was clear that the selection had been made based on who Martin felt was the most expendable.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate your vote of confidence in my flying abilities." Murdock said with a touch of overblown formality that hinted at sarcasm.

Martin glared at him with undisguised hatred. "You have five minutes to report to the air field Captain, now get the hell out of my office."

Murdock left the Headquarters at a run, pausing long enough to grab a private and order him to inform LtCol Shipton of the mission he was heading out on. As an afterthought, Murdock told the private to inform Shipton that he could ask Col Martin about the details if needed.

A few hours after the mission to drop off a Special Forces team deep into North Vietnam territory had left, the crew of Jolly Green 24 stepped into a native bar, that the American's had come to affectionately call the Tiger's Pissing Hole.

"God Damn, Shipton looked like he was going to shit nails after he found out Martin had sent our Captain off on a mission." Lt. Long commented as he pushed open the door to the bar.

"Martin's got it in for Murdock, and to be honest I'm not so sure I like the idea of crewing for him." Trombetta said with the sense to sound a bit guilty for sharing his opinion. "I mean I'm getting short, and nothing personal, but I wanna make it home in one piece."

Colonel "Hannibal" Smith, listened to the crew of the chopper that had pulled him and his guys out earlier in the week, and for a moment his distaste for what he heard could be read on his face.

"Trombetta's got a point Lieutenant, I mean look at the mission we flew earlier this week." Wendel added as he followed the rest of the crew towards a table. "Since when do we fly an extraction solo. I mean really, why do we have to be fucked if Martin doesn't like our pilot."

Long sat down hard on the stool beside the table, "Shipton said that he would take care of it." He defended, "Murdock's new and we owe it to him to at least stand by him long enough to give him and Shipton a chance to work it out with Martin."

"Yeah, but if we get downed before they make happy with each other, we're still fucked." Trombetta complained.

When Wendel sat down he looked from both Long and Trombetta, "Maybe we should wait and see if Murdock makes it back from this mission before we really start worrying about our own asses."

Colonel Smith continued to watch the Jolly Green crew, firmly masking the anger he felt after overhearing their conversation. To him, leadership meant several things, but most importantly, it meant taking care of the troops. The thought of a CO intentionally placing one of their men in danger sickened him. Standing up he headed out the door. This wasn't any of his business, but then again that never stopped him before. Somebody needed to remind this Martin character of his obligations, and Smith decided that someone was going to be him.

Captain Murdock tailed the other two choppers send on the insertion, wondering how he was going to be able to fake a believable crash at the coordinates that were rapidly approaching. Before he could consider the issue any further, green tracer fire shot up from the trees below.

"Evasive maneuvers," screamed the radio from one of the other choppers up ahead.

Running on instinct alone, Murdock cut the stick to the right and angled the blades to gain altitude. Before he could get the chopper up out of range he heard the tell-tail sounds of ammunition plucking at the fuselage and felt the chopper jerk. A quick glance back confirmed what he had heard. Smoke trailed from the tail of his bird. "Mayday, Mayday, I've been hit." He called out over his radio. The stick jerked out of his hand and he had to lunge for it to maintain control. The chopper jerked again and he lost control over his tail rotors.

"Can you get to a clearing for pick up?" Was the response over the radio.

"Negative," Murdock called back, "I've lost my tail so I can't turn." The helicopter seemed to choke and dip down towards the treetops. "I'm going down in the bushes." He called out as the chopper lost altitude.

As he fought to controls, Murdock noticed that the tracers had gotten thick and their aim was concentrated on the two other choppers in the formations. It almost seemed as if they were being chased away. "It's getting thick, we got to pull out." Came the confirmation over the radio, "Keep your beacon on and hide till we can bring in reinforcements. We'll try to stay with ya till you're down."

Murdock gulped down the fear that was rising in his throat. "Thanks guys." He responded back as he fought to control his crash. In the back of his mind, he wondered if this was a set up to cover the mission he had been assigned to. Then again, he wondered if this was the reason that he had been told so few details of the mission.

Back in Da Nang, another surprise attach of a sort was about to occur. It was night and the attacker moved intently towards his target. Armed with anger, Lieutenant Colonel Smith slammed open the door to Jolly Green Headquarters, startling Colonel Martin as he bent over his desk reading.

"Who the hell are you?" Martin asked in anger.

Smith crossed the distance from the door to the Colonel's desk in a few steps. "I went to buy a damn good pilot a beer tonight for saving my unit's ass this week." The Army LtCol spit out in disgust, "And I come to find out that a scum bag sent him out on another mission."

Understanding flashed across Martin's face, and that quickly turned to a scowl. "Where I send my men is none of your damn business Lieutenant Colonel."

Smith placed his hands on the Colonel's desk and leaned closer, "Anytime I hear troops talking about their CO setting up one of their own, I make it my business." He narrowed his eyes and glared at Martin. "Word has it that you've got a thing against Captain Murdock."

"Rumor's, nothing more." Martin said defensively as he backed away slightly in his chair.

"How long has the kid been here?" Smith asked remembering that the Captain's crew had said he was new. When Martin didn't respond, Smith repeated loudly as he slapped his hands against the desktop, "How long?"

Martin glared at Smith. "Get the fuck out of here before I bring security to escort you to the brig," he threatened.

"Fine," Smith said standing up, "Hide behind military protocol. I can play that game just as well."

"Get the Fu." Martin started to shout as he stood up.

"NO!" Hannibal snapped out in anger as he raised a gloved hand up to point a finger only inches from Martin's nose. "You won't explain yourself to me, then by damn you'll explain it to your CO! I'll take my questions and concerns to your General, and then we can both find out what he thinks of a dirt bag that sets up his own men." Deep down Smith wanted to knock the answers out of Martin, but the Army had very clear guidance over one officer breaking another officer's jaw even if he deserved it.

Followed by Martin's shouts, Smith stormed out of the Jolly Green Headquarters and headed for the base Headquarters. For the moment, he had confidence in the military chain of command.

"Colonel!" Yelled out a big black Sergeant while he ran to catch up.

Smith paused long enough for the Sergeant to catch up. He smiled as he watched Bosco Barracus steaming towards him like a bull. He was slower than most in his unit, but what he lacked in speed he more than made up for in bulk, intelligence and creativity. "Where you able to find anything out BA?" Smith asked as the Sergeant reached his side.

"Dat crazy pilot you sent me ta find out about, he ain't commin back." BA said puffing slightly. "Da choppers came back and they said he been shot down. Said they lost contact with him when he hit the jungle."

As news of a chopper being shot down spread through Da Nang, the pilot stumbled away from the mangled bird. Glancing back at the chopper Murdock kicked at a downed branch and slipped off his helmet. "Such a waste." He grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. Although his left arm ached from being hitting something on the way down, the pilot was more disturbed by the wasteful loss of a perfectly good helicopter.

Rubbing his head to clear the fog from his mind he took one last look at the mangled chopper then turned and headed into the jungle. Although he didn't have a map, Murdock was reasonably sure he was heading towards the rendezvous point. This was one of those times where he was thankful for his internal compass.

Back at Da Nang, Lieutenant Colonel Smith stepped out of the Base Headquarters with a satisfied gleam in his eye. The Captain may not have been able to prevent the circumstances that had resulted in his chopper being shot down, but at least there would be justice. The General had been furious to hear what Smith had to say, and he had immediately sent an aide for Murdock's crew and the other officer's in the unit. If hisinvestigation confirmed what Smith had told him, the General intended to have Colonel Martin brought up on charges.

"They still ain't heard anything back at the airfield Colonel." BA said as he stepped away from the building to join the Colonel. "General gonna do anything?" He asked doubtfully. From his own experiences he put little trust in officers.

Smith nodded, "He's begun an investigation."

BA snorted, and smashed a bulky fist into the palm of his left hand. "What that gonna do, choppers already crashed. Pilot's already dead for all we know."

Smith pulled a cigar from the pocket of his fatigues, bit down on the tip then spit it out. Waving the cigar as he spoke, he said, "We have no way to know if he survived or not, but we still had an obligation to report what we knew." He gave the Sergeant a somber look, "We've got to trust the senior officers to do the right thing. And they will."

BA nodded and scowled as the Colonel lit his cigar. "Man that stinks." He muttered under his breath as he waved the smoke away from his nose. He snorted gruffly and stomped off to return to the temporary hooch the team had been given till they could transfer back to their own base the next day.

All pilots take a jungle survival course at some point in their flight training, during which they learn to evade capture, avoid traps, find water, and make food out of everything and anything possible. As Murdock moved silently though the jungle, he vaguely remembered dining on live crunchy insects, and gathering water from the heavy morning dew that had collected on the leaves. The bugs hadn't been great, and he had been able to deal with it better than most, but the constant thirst had been hard to cope with. Stopping, the pilot took a moment to scan the area, watching for movement, and listening for any indication of movement around him. As he scanned the area, he noted an abundance of insects, 'I guess I won't starve if I don't find this contact I'm suppose to meet.' He thought bitterly.

Resuming his walk, Murdock remembered another portion on the training, whichcaused him to shiver involuntarily. The worst of it had been the portion of the course that had concentrated on surviving capture. His own experience was something he would never forget. He had been tucked under some heavy brush, asleep for the night when they came for him. From nowhere, hands had grabbed his feet and he had been dragged through the night to a waiting box.

The flashes of shadowed images, the pounding shouts of victorious captors, the smell dirt and vegetation, and the taste of fear all remained fresh in his mind. He supposed that the memories had remained so fresh in his mind because he had spend the next three days locked in a steel box, left to think of nothing more than his capture.

After his three days were up, he had been released to go though the debriefing portion of the training. After being checked out and cleared by a doctor, a psychologist, and his instructors he had been given a passing grade. Later, after talking to several others that had been through the course, he realized that the box had been the most important part of the test. Anyone that developed claustrophobia or flipped out, ended up losing their flight status out since the box was a favorite tool used by the enemy on captured pilots.

The sound of breaking limbs and movement nearby stopped the pilot in his tracks, and brought his full attention to the present. Dropping to the ground, he dragged himself under a patch of heavy brush. 'I hope this is where I'm suppose to meet my contact,' he thought desperately to himself as he crouched further into hiding. The sound of movement continued, and as the sound drew nearer Murdock held his breath.

Suddenly the sound stopped. "You're late", whispered a voice from above him.

Murdock's head emerged from the brush and he found a shadow staring down at him. "Did you shoot me down?" He hissed out the first thing that came to his mind.

"No," the shadow whispered. "The company made the arrangements."

"They damn near killed me." Murdock snapped back in a low voice as he stood up. To him the voice sounded feminine, but in a whisper it was hard to tell.

"We have to move," the voice whispered. "NVA have been looking for you since your chopper was reported as down."

Murdock groaned and thought, 'Can it get much worse'. "Right behind you," he whispered aloud.

Less than a half-hour later Murdock followed his contact, which he had learned was a woman, to a dirt road cut through the jungle. She stopped and pulled a pack from her back. "We're in Laos now," she whispered as she pulled several items out of the pack and shoved them towards the Pilot. "Put these on."

Taking the clothes passed to him, Murdock took a moment to look at the woman. She was petite and from what he could see in the soft moonlight, she had beautiful almond shaped eyes. "Are you Vietnamese?" He asked.

She paused and glanced up to look at the Pilot. "I'm an American." She said with a hint of pride, "From Chinese descent." She added to explain her delicate Asian features. "Now hurry, we have to be going if we're going to meet the chopper that's coming to pick us up."

Murdock nodded and began to pull the rough homespun tunic over his shoulder. He winced slightly when the motion pulled on the injury to on his arm, but his contact seemed to be more interested in watching the road. 'I'll have to get this arm looked at before long.' He thought to himself as he pulled on the rest of his disguise.

"We need to walk north along this road till we come to a clearing on the other side. A helicopter will be there shortly to pick us up." She said stepping out onto the road, "Keep to the shadows and we should be fine."

After a half-hour of traveling in silence along the dirt road, they came to a clearing large enough for a chopper. The woman pointed to nearby brush and started for it without looking back. Once they were both safely hidden in the brush, Murdock whispered, "So what should I call ya? Contact seems so impersonal."

Without looking at her companion, the woman whispered back, "My name is Valerie Chung."

Murdock smiled at her, "Well hello Valerie, my name is H.M. but you can call me Murdock."

"H.M?" She whispered, "What does that stand for?"

The Pilot opened his mouth to explain that his name was in fact H.M. and that stood for nothing other than H.M. but the sound of a chopper nearing the clearing cut him off. "Looks like our ride is here."

Before the small helicopter landed and both Murdock and Valerie were on the run. Less than a second after hopping on board, the small craft went airborne again. No one spoke during the short hop which only added to the mystery of the mission. Less than 20 minutes later, the chopper landed at what looked like an ancient abandoned temple.

Valerie and Murdock exited the chopper they looked over the eerie setting. Behind them, the chopper lifted off and was gone before either agent could change their mind. "So where too from here?" Murdock asked as he continued to look around. "This place is creepy." He said under his breath.

Valerie shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. Someone was suppose to meet us when we landed. We're suppose to get our props and background here before going on to the next leg of the journey."

Frowning, Murdock stepped closer to the temple. "Maybe they're inside."

Looking suspiciously at the temple and noting the excessive amount of snake like things in the shadows, Valerie said, "No, I think we should stay here."

A clicking noise caught both of their attention and they turned to what they thought was they source. Murdock and Valerie both jumped back when the pillar suddenly opened and a dim light shown from it's interior.

"Cool, this is kinda like that new TV show 'Get Smart'" Murdock said with a boyish amusement as he stepped closer to take a peek inside. Turning back he smiled, "It's an elevator or sort of an elevator. Come on lets go and see where this takes us."

Valerie shook her head in disbelief as she watched the Pilot step inside the pillar. She hesitated only a moment before following the Pilot into the mysterious pillar. As soon as she entered the pillar door closed and they felt themselves descending. "This is not exactly what I expected." She admitted. Turning to poke Murdock in the chest. "If this leads us to a pit of snakes, I am not planning to forgive you. Got that?"

Murdock looked at her curiously, "No snakes, got it." Looking around the bare walls of the elevator as it descended, he commented "One thing I'm learning about this CIA stuff is to expect the unexpected."

Expecting the unexpected offered little preparation for what they found when the pillar elevator reached it's destination. "Well I'll be . . ." Murdock stuttered as he stepped out of the elevator and did a quick scan of the busy complex.

"Ditto" Valerie whispered as she stepped out beside him.

Both agents' were so absorbed by the sights before them, that they didn't notice the suit clad figure approaching them until he spoke. "Able nine? Shadow twelve?

Ms. Chung turned quickly, "Reporting as ordered." She responded.

"Ah . . . Shadow twelve reporting as ordered too." Murdock said with a grin as he held out the hand on his uninjured arm to introduce himself, "Name's H.M. Murdock."

The somber man glanced at Murdock's hand then promptly ignored it. "We have little time. If you will follow me we can complete your preparations and proceed with the insertion." With that he turned and began to walk away.

Murdock pulled his hand back and shrugged as Valerie followed the mysterious man. "Guess I missed the rudeness course in my training." He commented to empty space as he followed the two people.

The next few hours followed in a whirl, as clothing was issued, photos were taken, and personal information was droned into their heads. Murdock learned he was to assume the name of Aleksei Izvekov and Valerie was to pose as his Chinese wife Tsung. The personal information that they had been given seemed incomplete but neither questioned their vague backgrounds since it was suppose to be a quick in and out mission.

Once outfitted and filled in on their background, Murdock's injured arm was looked at in order to assure that it would not hamper the mission. The Captain stared in awe as the CIA doctor duck taped his arm to provide support to the injury. The Doctor noticed the Captain's dumbfounded look and explained, "This is something that you would have onboard your chopper." He said holding up the roll of duck tape. "It's strong enough to offer support for the injury, and it's unlikely that you'd have to explain the unusual bandaging since this has been seen before." After finishing the taping, the Doctor covered the tape with gauze. "You were issued long sleeve shirts so this will remain out of sight. Once you complete the mission discard the guaze and smear a little dirt over the arm to give the appearance of a field situation."

"You've done this before haven't you?" Murdock asked as he flexed his arm to test the mobility.

The doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not at liberty to say." He said as he cleaned up the primitive materials that he had used to patch up his patient.

"Gottcha." Murdock said giving the doctor a thumbs up.

As Murdock stood up, Valerie entered the infirmary. "Our transportation is waiting." She said in a hurried voice. "Are you all done?"

H.M. rolled down his shirtsleeve and buttoned the cuff. "All patched up." He confirmed, "I guess we'd better get this show on the road."

As the two agents for the CIA made their way through the isolated jungles north to Phongsali, the closest major city near the Chinese boarder, a meeting was taking place in DaNang to discuss a Commanding Officer's actions.

"Colonel Martin, I've spoken with a number of individuals within your command and I have not liked what I've heard." General Brown said staring at the papers he was shuffling in front of him.

"Sir, I . . " Martin interrupted.

Brown looked up from the paperwork. "You what? Have an explanation?" The balding General said leaning back in his chair. "Please, I'd like to hear it." The General said sarcastically, "Tell me why a pilot in country for less than two weeks has been sent on mission reserved for experienced field pilots. One without back up, and another a special operations insertion. All this without full indoctrination and in-theater familiarization." He rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and clasped his hands together. "Yes, I'd like to hear your explanation."

"General Brown, this pilot came from the Air Force's most elite flying squadron. I think it was reasonable to expect him to be familiar with all matters covered during . . . "

Brown slapped his hands on his desk. "Captain Murdock came from a God Damn public relations squadron! What the hell kind of ass backwards reason were you using Martin!" Brown pushed his chair away from the desk and stood up and began pacing. "Exactly how the hell do you think I felt having a Green Beret Colonel come in here and remind me of the responsibilities of a Commanding Officer." The General stopped and glared at Martin. "And to make matters worse, he was right!"

"I . . " Martin tried to explain.

"Shut up Martin!" Brown snapped, "Just shut up!"

Martin's face turned red as Brown came around to the front of the desk to stand less than a foot in front of him.

"Your ass is going to be flying off my flag pole if this pilot doesn't make it back, do you hear me Martin?" Brown yelled, "Hell, your ass just might be flying off my flag pole if he does!"

"Yes sir." Martin said in a whisper.

The General placed his hands on his hips and stared at the floor in disgust. "I've heard the scuttle about your little whinny bull shit about the Thunderbirds Martin." Brown said flatly. "And I'm not impressed."

"Sir, that has nothing to do with it." Martin defended.

"BULL SHIT!" The General spat back. "You get you petty ego bruised and now you take it out on a kid that you should be thanking god to get in your squadron."

Martin shifted uncomfortably and avoided looking into the General's face.

There was a pregnant silence that followed the General's explanation while Martin waited for Brown to speak again. He couldn't accept that he had done anything wrong. It had been his intent to teach the know-it-all primadonna a lesson, and that was a perfectly acceptable action for a CO to take.

Brown snorted in disgust. "In accordance with my rights as Commanding Officer, as outlined in Article 15 of the UCMJ, you are immediately reduced in rank to Lieutenant Colonel." Brown said firmly. "Your record will be documented with violations of Art. 81. Conspiracy, Article 93 Cruelty and maltreatment, Article 98 Noncompliance with procedural rules, Article 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and Article 134. General article. It is your right to appeal these charges by request of Court Martial proceedings."

'That God Damned Thunderbird screws up and I'm being punished.' Martin thought to himself. 'He's going to pay!' He repeated in his mind over and over.

A glorious sunset welcomed a Russian Antonov AN-24 passenger plane into the sky as its twin Ivchenko AI-24 engines lifted the plane gracefully lifted the plane off the runway of the small airport just outside Phongsali.

As the plane leveled out and headed north, the pilot and his co-pilot spoke softly to each other so not to disturb the distinguished passengers they were transporting. Both aviators were minor support members of the KGB who had been assigned to the backward country of Laos to aid Russian operations in the Southeast Asia region. Most of their work had been boring transport runs that were nothing more than personnel exchanges. It had been an exciting honor when Aleksei Izvekov and his wife had shown up that afternoon with orders to be flown to the Chinese City of Siamo in the Yun Nan province. The orders had been issued directly from the Kremlin and carried the highest level of security that either of the pilot's had ever encountered.

In the back of the plane, Murdock and Valerie relaxed in their seats as being the sole passengers on a plane that carried 44 to 52 people was perfectly normal.

"I don't believe they bought it." Murdock whispered in amazement.

"Speak Russian." Valerie whispered back in Russian.

"Izvinite (Excuse me)" Murdock replied quickly.

Valerie smiled and took his hand in hers and whispered in Russian, "The pilot's are curious about us."

Murdock lifted Valerie's hand and kissed a knuckle, "Noticed." He responded with ease. "We need to discuss our plans once we land."

Valerie nodded and smiled. "Which is easily done while giving the appearance of normal husband and wife affection."

By the time the plane landed in Siamo, the aviators were sure that Izvekov and his wife were the perfect couple. Both pilots assumed that the couple's duties to Mother Russia gave them little time to enjoy each other's company so they made no attempt to disturb them.

When the plane landed, it was met by a Chinese army platoon headed up by an officer looked so angry that it appeared as if he had been kicked in the balls. When the door to the plane opened, the Chinese officer stepped forward.

Murdock stepped into the hatchway and paused to glance over the troops that had obviously been scrambled to meet the unexpected arrival by Russians. Biting down the nervousness he felt, Murdock gazed at the troops with bored disinterest. Taking his time, the Captain finally let his gaze rest of the officer. "As a gesture of friendship between our great countries, I will not inform the Kremlin of the lacking reception." Murdock said in an arrogant tone as he stepped off the plane. "But then I do have a great tolerance for my wife's people." He glanced up at the plane and Valerie made her appearance as if on cue.

Stepping down from the plane in smooth fluid motion, Valerie moved to stand beside Murdock. With a soft nod of her head to acknowledge the Chinese Officer, Valerie spoke in Chinese. "Please forgive my husband Major, as you are well aware Russian Defense representatives can be so arrogant." She smiled at Murdock, the perfect picture of a devoted wife. "May I introduce Aleksei Izvekov, defense analyst of Soviet Union foreign policy agency."

"We have received no notification and there is no authorization for a visit from the Soviet Union." The Major said gruffly, with less confidence than he had only moments before the passengers had stepped off the plane. "I can not permit . . "

Murdock laughed, "The great Soviet Union decides to investigate the possibility of helping its neighbor prevent the American's attempt to spread its government into Southeast Asia and you speak of permitting me. HA!" He turned to Valerie, "Tsung, it appears we are not welcome."

"We have been sent to speak with Sung Lau Cho and I am sure that this temporary mix up will be resolved." Valerie said with a shrug.

The Chinese Major had the sense to look uncomfortable at the mention of Cho's name.

Murdock shook his head and ranted, "It is the same as the Cuban incident my dear, The American's continue to use their influence to keep the rightful government of a country from accepting the superior Communist policy."

Valerie patted Murdock's arm, "Aleksei, it will not be the same as Cuba."

The Major's confusion grew as his confidence declined. "You will be escorted to visitor quarters, but I must confirm the purpose of your presence in our country before you can move freely."

The suite of rooms they were placed in was small and bare. When the guards closed the door to leave them alone, both Murdock and Valerie began searching the room.

"This will look well in my report." Murdock said out loud just in case they were being monitored.

"It is a step above a prison my darling," Valerie said following Murdock's lead. "But still, it is as you said they would do. Their security measures are adequate." Under the edge of a communist motivational picture Valerie found a small microphone. Waving her hands to get Murdock's attention she pointed to the device.

Nodding an acknowledgment that he understood, Murdock continued to speak. "I am however disappointed that they were not aware of our visit before got off the plane. The KGB would have known."

"Please my love, I do not wish to argue about the differences between my people and yours. Our goals are the same." Valerie said with a smile.

Murdock laughed, "My dear Tsung, I always enjoy our discussions."

Valerie snorted, "Ah yes, was it not our last discussion that you informed me that Russians invented rice?"

Murdock laughed again, enjoying the act they were putting on for the listening devices. "Still you doubt it."

Several buildings away, the Chinese Major reported to General Cho's office. "The Russian, Aleksei Izvekov and his wife Tsung Lee both have been confirmed by Moscow General. The intent of the visit is to inspect the supply line to North Vietnam to determine if the Soviet Union can be of assistance in our efforts."

"The Soviet's initially ignored my request for assistance." Cho said with a raised brow. "Have they indicated any knowledge of who I am?"

"No General, but the opportunity to discuss the matter did not present itself." The Major said nervously. The North Vietnamese General made him more nervous than an entire division of Russians ever could. The man that had been recently caught had been the first in China to experience the full level of cruelty that Cho was capable of. "What do you wish me to do?"

"Escort them on a tour of our operations." Cho said quickly, "But watch them. The first hint that they are not who they claim to be, and they will be mine to deal with."

The Major bowed, "As you wish General."

Bright and early the next morning, the Chinese Major greeted the Izvekov's and escorted them to breakfast. "Please forgive the inhospitable treatment you received yesterday," Major Che said apologetically, "But I am sure you understand the need for security."

"Da (Yes)" Murdock said as he sipped the thick coffee that had been placed before him. "We understand. In fact you would have received similar treatment if our circumstances were reversed."

"But your KGB would have known of our visit long before our arrival." Major Che said smugly, knowing fully what the Russian couple had discussed the night before.

Murdock aka Aleksei Izvekov laughed. "True, we would have known."

Valerie gave Murdock a knowing smile. At least the mystery of who had been listening on the other end of the microphones had been solved.

"So we review your operation today, correct?" Murdock said moving the conversation in the direction that would accomplish their mission. "We have little time and must return to Moscow tomorrow with my report."

Che nodded, "I understand." He glanced from Aleksei to Tsung, "We can begin after our meal."

Murdock nodded approvingly, but Valerie interrupted, "Major, if you will forgive me, I have no interest in my husband's duties to the Soviet Union. If possible I would like to take advantage of Siamo's shopping district." She smiled softly at Murdock, just as any wife would. "I hope you'll understand that Moscow offers very little in the line of silks that are so readily available in my home country."

Major Che raised his brows, thrown off by the unexpected change in plans. "It was my understanding that you would both be reviewing . . ."

Murdock cut Che off with a raised hand, "My wife is not an official representative of my Government. To be honest she would not understand most of what we will be looking at." Murdock grinned when Valerie's eyes narrowed a bit. "It would be faster for us both if she entertained herself elsewhere."

At the end of breakfast, Valerie, aka Tsung Izvekov headed towards the shops in the center of Siamo while Murdock, aka Aleksei Izvekov was taken to the military warehouses containing the operation center of the North Vietnam supply line.

Murdock's tour covered information the CIA already knew so he found himself listening to the explanations and information with detached interest. During this phase of their mission, Valerie had the task of contacting the members of the information line outside the operations center in order to reestablishing the communications chain. Once that was accomplished, Murdock was to contact the members within the operations center to give them the name of the contact on the outside.

Suddenly the hairs of the back of Murdock's neck stood up and the feeling that he was being watched tingled in the back of his mind. While feigning interest in what Major Che was saying, the part time CIA Agent glanced around to see if he could find the cause of the suspicions he now had. Out of the corner of his eye he caught movement from the window of an office located high above the warehouse floor.

In the center of Siamo, Valerie went from one vendor stand to the next, haggling prices for their wares while keeping a keen eye on the level of interest her escorts were showing. She had to give them credit for their attention to duty but was grateful after they began to loose interest in her shopping after a few hours.

"I am looking for silk in the color similar to the blue in the American's flag." Valerie began asking vendor's when she stopped to inspect the fabrics at various booths. "Would you know where I can find some?"

Finally after asking nearly every fabric shop in the Market Square, she received a response. "Yes, I can show you if you wish." An old man replied to her inquiry. "My wife has made it into a dress, and I am sure it will fit you."

"May I see it?" Valerie asked spying a glance at her bored escorts. When the shopkeeper gave Valerie the dress, she inspected it carefully and held it up in front of her. "I will have to try it on before I decide if I want to buy it."

"There is a small area in the back of our shop where you can try the dress on." The Shopkeeper said pointing to the back corner of his shop. "If this dress does not please you, then we do have others that may suit your taste."

Stepping into the dressing room, Valerie found a small woman waiting for her. "You must leave." The woman whispered frantically. "It is not safe now. All communications must be silent."

"We've been sent to reestablish communications." Valerie said in an equally whispered tone.

"No!" The small woman snapped in a hushed voice. "General Cho has captured our contacts within the warehouse already, and he is searching for the rest of us. We are all in danger and can not risk activating the network."

"Do you mean Sung Lau Cho?" Valerie asked.

"No, you do not understand. Sung Lau Cho is not who we thought he was." The small woman said as she wrung her hands. "He is a North Vietnamese General, not Cho, but Sung Chao. He and his brother are murderer's who are using this war in Vietnam as a means to advance their positions and for the pleasure of causing others pain. They are devil's."

Valerie's jaw dropped open slightly. "He was reported dead." She insisted.

"The man who posed as Sung Lau Cho in this operation was his assistant." The woman whispered nervously, "The supply line is going strong and we have only been able to make only minor inconveniences for them. We have been duped into believing what they wanted us to believe. Even the Chinese do not know the full extent of the operation that is going on here."

"Explain." Valerie said urgently.

"As we reported, supplies are being sent to aid the North Vietnamese cause." The woman whispered nervously, "But we've discovered that supplies are also being sent to South Vietnam."

"What kind of supplies?" Valerie asked with concern. Till now they had been concerned about the northern army but if militants were being armed behind friendly lines then the rules of war were about to change.

"The north is receiving rations and weapons." The small woman said, confirming reports that their network had already sent out. "But mass quantities of drugs are being sent south."

Valerie looked confused. "Drugs? No weapons?"

"The drugs are the weapons." The woman explained impatiently, "Drugs that are available cheap and in quantity to American's."

"Oh my god." Valerie hissed under her breath. The CIA had noted, with passing interest, the increased availability of cocaine and marijuana, but they had concentrated on the weapons that had begun to cross the border.

"Chao arrived about a week ago and when he assumed the management of the supply operations one of our agents who worked in the warehouses as a janitor overheard Chao bragging about destroying the American's from within as well as with weapons." The woman's face pinched as she thought about the information that had passed through the network. "The information was passed but within hours our agent as well as others within the warehouse were captured. We shut the network down immediately to avoid drawing attention."

Valerie paled. Chao's interrogation techniques were well known within the CIA.

"You must leave quickly." The woman advised.

In the warehouse, Murdock noted that there was a portion of the building that had been avoided during the tour. "That area . . " he said pointing towards the area in question. "What is there?"

"It is of no concern." Major Che said quickly, "Come, let me show you our transportation . . . " Before he could continue, Murdock brazenly waltzed to the section that Che had avoided. A few feet from the stockpile of boxes he heard the distinctive sound of weapons being primed. Instinctually he stopped.

"You were informed that this section is of no concern to you." Major Che said flatly as he moved through the wall of guards who had appeared from out of nowhere. "This is Cho's private project, and I must ask you to back away from it."

Murdock turned to face Che, with narrowed eyes and an appearance of being angered. "How dare you!" Murdock snapped in the thickest Russian accent he could muster. "Your people ask for our assistance yet you attempt to hide things from us." He said with disgust.

As Murdock ranted a few Russian insults, A guard rushed over and whispered something in Che's ear. Che nodded and turned to glare at Murdock, "I have been informed that we no longer need or desire assistance from the Soviet Union Comrade Izvekov."

Taken by surprise, opened and closed his mouth a couple times. Before he could respond, something impacted heavily against the back of his head, plunging him into darkness.

The small Chinese woman grabbed the dress that Valerie had been given to try on, and before questions could be asked, the woman ripped the sleeve. "Tell my husband that it was poorly made," she insisted as she shoved the dress back into the agents hands. "Then go before you draw attention to us."

"But, the orders . . . " Valerie began.

"I said go," The Chinese woman spat out impatiently, "tell them we will send messages again when it is safe." The Chinese woman frantically said as she began pushing Valerie to the door.

Valerie slipped out of the small changing room with a frown on her face. Without looking she knew that her escorts were watching her, expecting something. As an agent Valerie prided herself of her ability to think on her feet but the information that she had been given turned the situation and their mission on edge.

"You like?" The shopkeeper asked expectantly.

Valerie's frown deepened as she looked down at the torn garment in her hands. "No." She said flatly while tossing the dress in a heap on the counter. "It was poorly made and ripped when I tried to put it on." She added with enough disgust in her voice to make the part she was playing believable.

The shopkeeper's face flushed with embarrassment. "I can fix it," he offered quickly. His words and actions played the part expected of him, but his eyes told a different story.

Raising her head till she looked down her nose at the old man. "You honestly don't expect me to find damaged merchandise of any interest. Pedal it to someone of lesser standing." Turning smartly on her heels, Valerie stormed out of the shop. As she passed her escorts, she muttered a few well-chosen insults under her breath about quality. The act seemed to fool the escorts who glanced at each other and rolled their eyes as they followed the Russian's wife.

The return to consciousness came slowly. Before Murdock could get past the throbbing in his head and focus his strength to open his eyes, he heard what sounded like a couple of tomcats hissing and snarling at each other. 'No, not a cat fight,' he thought to himself as he drifted in the state of confusion that was semi- consciousness, 'somebody fightin' in Chinese.' The pounding in his head made it difficult to focus and he could only make out part of what was being said, but it was enough to give him an idea of where he was.

"Can not afford . . . Soviet Union." One voice shouted.

". . . of no concern . . ." Another responded back.

". . . drugs . . . international incident." The first voice argued.

"Kill . . . . accident . . . reasonable explanation." The second voice said coldly.

"Can not . . . . it would cause suspicions." The first voice said urgently.

"There are ways . . . . appearance of . . . . from accident." The second man suggested.

An involuntary moan escaped Murdock's mouth as his body betrayed its return to wakefulness. The sound ended the conversation between the Chinese, and Murdock forced himself to keep his eyes closed. Without seeing he could feel the presence of two men gathering over him, and he hoped they would go away once they grew tired of waiting for him to wake. 'Play possum." He thought to himself, but that only served to increase the feeling of panic rising in his throat as he reminded himself that possums had a way of playing dead in the bright lights of oncoming traffic.

Instinct told him that his time was running out and he began to mentally prepare himself for the worst case scenario. 'How do you prepare to be shot?' The pilot wondered when he realized that the worst possible thing that could happen would involve a bullet. He could imagine beads of sweat forming on his brow as he acknowledged the fact that he had only one thing he could do if the worst case scenario were to happen. Die.

'Think Russian," Murdock began to repeat in his head over and over. During his short training he had been told over and over to stay in character when on assignment. 'Think Russian, Speak Russian, be Russian.' With his eyes closed he relied on the sounds of movement around him, and he heard the rustling of clothing standing near his shoulder. 'Don't be afraid,' he reminded himself.

The thought barely had time to cross his mind when a hand roughly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him upright. "Open your eyes," an Asian voice spat out in barely recognizable Russian.

"Argh, speak Chinese. It is less painful to the ear than your butchered attempts at Russian." Murdock complained weakly in Russian. 'That was stupid.' He thought to himself the moment the words left his mouth.

His reward was immediate and painful as a Chinese fist impacted against his stomach. "Arrogant Russian Bastard!" The man shouted in Chinese.

Murdock groaned, opened his eyes, and fought the nausea that followed the assault. "I am a Russian that reminds you that you strike at the Soviet Union when you strike at me." Murdock snapped out, hoping he looked as brave as his words had been. Wasn't this supposed to be easy? Wasn't the Chinese and the Russians supposed to be buddies?

The Asian man narrowed his eyes in contempt and shoved Murdock to the ground. When he stepped back to kick at the fallen man, Major Che stepped forward. "He is right." Che said in Vietnamese.

Murdock looked up in genuine surprise and quickly surmised that neither suspected he could understand. Fortunately the man who had been treating him so rough had caught the look of confusion and attributed it to a confirmation that it was safe to speak in Vietnamese.

"The Russians do not belong here, this is not their concern!" Cho spat out in Vietnamese, "They are as corrupt as the Americans."

"This is true." Che agreed. "But even though my Government has turning a blind eye to the full extent of this operation, they will not allow us to interfere with the precarious alliance we have with the Russians." Che's expression reflected concern. "Izvekov saw the shipment, but I do not believe that he is aware of what is in it."

Cho narrowed his eyes, "Are you willing to risk everything on his ignorance?"

Momentarily forgotten, Murdock felt as if he were a child sitting in the Principal's office while the adults talked about him, around him, but never to him. Whatever they were talking about, it was important, real important. He had been shown weapons, ammunition, rations, what could be worse than that?

"No." Che answered with a touch of regret. "We can not risk his reporting even a suspicion of something more than what is already known."

A smile spread across Cho's face. "Bring his wife. We will see what they know before we arrange the accident."

Che nodded, turned and left, and as he closed the door, Murdock got a feeling in the pit of his stomach that things had just gone from bad to worse.

In DaNang, Colonel Hannibal Smith roughly stuffed the last of his belongings into his pack. He and his team were heading back to their own base. He had hoped to stick around long enough to find out the young pilot that had gone down in the bush, but it was if he had disappeared. Search parties had gone out on a regular basis. The kid's chopper had been found but there had been no sign of the pilot.

"Hannibal?" Asked a voice from behind him.

Smith didn't look up and he didn't turn around. "Yeah BA, I'm coming."

"Lieutenant Hanes wants to know if he should just stay since he's suppose to turn right around and come back to catch his ride home." BA said breaking into the Colonel's thoughts. "He say he don't want nothin he left back at base."

Hannibal sighed. He had gotten so absorbed in the situation with the pilot that he hadn't even thought about his departing supply officer. "Tell him that I'll stop at the HQ to release him from the unit before the rest of us leave."

"You got us a new Sup O yet?" BA asked.

Hannibal shook his head. "Not yet."

BA nodded. He had heard the scuttle about the reorganization of the special ops teams and although the Colonel hadn't said, the bulky mechanic was guessing that this had something to do with the delay in selecting the new officer.

Continuing with the appearance of shopping, Valerie poked though Siamo's shops long after she had made contact with the woman from the Chinese network. Under the guise of shopping she had the time to think about what she had been told. They had thought that the communications link had been severed due to the loss of an agent. Instead, those in the network were laying low because of the dangers presented by Cho's appearance.

Valerie found herself grow cold with the thought that the Chinese were supplying drugs to the South. 'The bastards!' She thought to herself. This war was being fought like no other and the men drawn into the country were having to face a hell that soldiers had never had to face before.

Many things were occurring that would push a strong man to the release offered by drugs. Unlike wars in the past, this one never clearly defined the enemy. The North sent women, children and old people into the American's midst armed with bombs and rifles. How many men lost their minds from the guilt of having to shoot a child or an old woman before they took out an entire unit with a suicide bomb? Day in and day out, American soldiers looked into the faces of people, who acted as if they were friends, wondering which one was going to suddenly turn deadly.

For those that made it home, there was another nightmare to face. Even in the country of their birth, American's who served their country found their uniform to be the focus of hate. How many came home to be accused of being baby killers, murderers, and devils. After serving they return home to be spit on and be the target of volley's of garbage being thrown. No other war welcomed its soldier's home in the way that the Vietnam Vets were being welcomed.

Yes, there was a market for cheap drugs, and she and Murdock needed to withdraw and pass the information along. Just thinking about it was giving Valerie a royal headache. Reaching the decision that they had to withdraw, Valerie turned and headed towards her escorts to inform then that she was done. Before she took a step in their direction she saw four heavily armed soldiers heading towards them. 'Shit!' She thought as she quickly glanced around for an escape route.

Turning to head back into the shop she had just visited she slammed roughly into Major Che.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

In the warehouse, Murdock passed his time recovering from the blow to his head. Thankfully Cho had followed Che out and he had been left alone. Murdock quickly decided that they had probably left him to contemplate his future. It took him only a few seconds to realize that he had his hands and feet tied. He pulled against his bonds and was curious to find that them loose. Shivering slightly, Murdock remembered the look in Cho's eyes. 'He probably wants me to try and escape so he has a good excuse to beat the stuffin out of me.'

Squirming around, the pilot loosened the bonds further, but decided it best to leave them on. Shifting around to find a comfortable spot, Murdock laid on the floor with his eyes closed. Right now he needed to get his head together in order to figure out a way to get out of the mess he was in. He thought briefly about his partner and wondered how she would react when they came for her. Shrugging slightly, he figured that it wouldn't be long till he found out. As much as he didn't like the idea of her capture he was hoping that her greater experience in the field would turn the current situation around.

'What exactly was the situation,' he wondered. From the bits and pieces that he had heard when he had first come around, he assumed that he had stumbled into a shipment of drugs. There had to be something about the drugs that had caused them to turn on him the way they did, so he guessed that they were not the kind of drugs that helped people. Unfortunately, all the guessing in the world wasn't going to help. What he did know had so many holes in it that it made no sense at all. 'Some secret agent you are.' Murdock thought to himself.

After twenty minutes left with his thoughts, Murdock still had no answers. At least he wouldn't be alone long. Only moments ago he had heard the sound of nearby shouting.

Major Che was growing frustrated with Tsung Izvekov. From the moment they had picked her up in the shopping square she had begun shouting, and she hadn't shut up. She had accused him of being a traitor to their people and the Communist way. She had told him, quite loudly, that she had spent years defending their people in the Soviet Union and he had with a single action proved the Russians right. By the time they reached the warehouse, Che had hoped that she would have run out of steam, but she had disappointed him.

When the Major opened the door to the office that the Russian was locked in, he was greeted by a hearty laughter.

"Shut up Aleksei!" Valerie shouted in Russian.

"Did I not tell you my love." Murdock aka Aleksei responded. "No, you convinced me that the Chinese would welcome us."

"I said shut up Aleksei!" Valerie responded in disgust. "What did you do, did you insult them? Did you try to convince them that they are nothing without the Soviet Union? I can not and will not believe that my people are foolish as pigs!"

Major Che took that moment to push the Russian's wife into the room and retreat by closing the door. "Let him listen to her for a while." He commented to his men as he locked the door.

The two guards left outside the room, listened with interest to the argument that was taking place inside. The feisty little woman who had a short time ago directed her hostilities on them was now laying into her husband with gusto. Both suspected that it would be a while until the Major returned with Cho since he had taken the blunt of the woman's insults.

Inside, Valerie continued to shout as she helped Murdock free himself. "If I hear one word about the superiority of the great Soviet Union, I'll scream!" Then she added in a whisper, "Keep shouting, it'll throw them off."

"You said the Chinese were honorable, and devoted to the cause." Murdock shouted. "I stumbled into a shipment of drugs." He whispered.

"It must have been you!" Valerie shouted as she helped him to his feet. "I was told that they have drugs that are being shipped south to be sold to American's." She added in a whisper.

"I did nothing! They turned on me like a pack of wild dogs!" Murdock said as he followed Valerie as she began to search for a way out. He reached out and took her arm to get her full attention, "Che and his buddy Cho are planning an accident for us. They don't want to take a chance of the Soviet's finding out about the drugs." He whispered.

Valerie looked up at him and opened her mouth to tell him about Cho when she spotted a possible escape. "Give me a hand." She whispered as she pulled away from him and headed towards what looked like an access panel in the ceiling.

Valerie stopped under the ceiling panel and looked up at it intensely. "I think we've just found our way out." She whispered.

Getting through the access panel was a little complicated. They needed to get up without noise and without leaving behind a trail. After putting their heads together, they decided to that Murdock would be the fist to go up. Together they moved boxes and furniture around until the pilot could hoist himself through the hole.

Once Murdock was safely up, Valerie moved everything back where they foundit then stood under the hole. Murdock leaned down, stretched his hand out to his partner and waited for her to jump. "Come on baby, now or never." He whispered down to her as she stooped down.

Valerie's leap into the air seemed to go in slow motion as she pushed herself upwards, targeting on Murdock's hand. Just as she felt herself falling back down towards the floor the Captain stretched a bit further. When their hands touched there was a soft slap of flesh against flesh and a silent grunt of exertion as Murdock pulled her through the hole.

Once the panel was replaced and they were securely hidden in the ceiling both agents paused to rest. With the panel closed, they were safely concealed in darkness. "You ever consider a career in basketball?" Murdock asked softly, breaking the silence that had consumed them since escaping the room below.

Valerie replied with a soft chuckle, "Yeah, right women in basketball, what planet do you live on." She replied sarcastically.

"So what's the plan?" Murdock whispered.

"We wait." She said softly, "It's quiet down there and somebody's going to get curious soon, or Che is going to visit. Either way everybody in this place is going to start looking for us." She sighed, trying to relax. "We're safe up here for the time being."

"Somebody's going to figure out where we went sooner or later." Murdock whispered in objection. "It's pretty obvious."

In the dark, Valerie shook her head, "That's why spying is so successful, most people miss the obvious."

"You majored in philosophy didn't you?" Murdock guessed softly.

Valerie paused, surprised. "How did you know?" She whispered.

Before he could answer, shouting from below caused them both to hold their breaths. Their absence had been discovered and a guard was shouting, alerting everyone.

Activity down below increased within seconds after the alert was sounded. First Major Che arrived, followed by General Cho and then a squad of soldiers. The object of the search listened intently as Che directed the search to cover the roads and the airport. The activity level remained at a high level when Major Che left to coordinate his search at the airport. Cho remained at the warehouse and directed the search of the grounds to begin in the room that the prisoners had escaped from.

Both Valerie and Murdock cringed as the sounds of the search below them echoed through the rafters. Boxes and furniture alike were being tossed about in an attempt to find some clue as to how the Russian and his wife had escaped. To add to the tension, Cho shouted threats at the guards to entice them to search harder, and to find a clue. For what seemed like hours, Valerie and Murdock laid between the rafters of the ceiling waiting for their chance to move.

Patience was a virtue. After silence in the room below, and absence of sound coming from the warehouse beyond for over twenty minutes, the two agent's began to move. Valerie moved towards the access panel and gently lifted it enough to peer into the room below.

"They really did a number on the room." Valerie whispered when she decided that it was clear to speak.

"Guess we spoiled their plans." Murdock whispered back as he moved closer to the panel. "What do we do now? They got the Airport covered and the roads. Even if we get out of this warehouse there's no way out."

In the sliver of light that was shining up through the slightly opened panel, Valerie's head could be seen shaking. "You've got to learn to be adaptable Murdock. Roads and Air aren't the only means of travel."

"Oh sure, let's just hop a canoe and paddle." Murdock whispered back sarcastically.

Valerie's teeth showed brightly in the limited light as she smiled. "Close." She whispered with a hint of amusement. "We get to the Lancang River, go down river, then make our way across the border to Luang Nam-Tha in Laos."

"In case you didn't know, I'm in the Air Force." Murdock whispered in annoyance, "We don't do the fishy things."

"Then adapt." Valerie hissed back, "Think flying fish."

After slipping back down into the room that they had escaped from, Valerie and Murdock took some time to survey the activity in the warehouse. Most of what was happening was beyond the pilot, and he was surprising himself on how well he was keeping up. "There sure don't cover this in spy school." The Captain commented as he noted that there appeared to be a pattern to the comings and goings of the guards pacing through the warehouse.

"Most agents spend a few years behind the desk or backing up field agents before they actually get into something like this." Valerie whispered as she noted each of the guard's positions in relationship to the exit. "When I was partnered with you, I was told you were a hot shot genius or something."

"Damn." Murdock hissed as he watched Major Che and Cho enter the warehouse. "The bad guys are back."

Panic began to set in as they watched Che and Cho head for the stairs that would lead to their location. As the two men started up the stairs, Valerie grabbed Murdock and the two of them pressed themselves against the wall beside the hinged side of the door.

When the door swung open, Murdock reached out for the doorknob as it arched towards them. He had two purposes, one to keep the door from slamming into their faces and second he wanted to discourage the door from being closed when Che and Cho entered. Thankfully the two senior officers were intent on their conversation to take notice of the door.

"The hole in the floor was found during our search." Cho said in a conceited tone. "Once I located their means of escape I sent the search outward."

"I had no idea this hole existed General," Che replied. "It was very cleaver of you to think to search for the method of their escape."

Cho snorted in self-satisfaction.

"I have placed a detail at the airport," Che informed his superior, "It is the likely direction that they will head."

"I want this matter settled before Lieutenant Thang arrives to transport our special shipment south." Cho said stiffly. "If he has any suspicions that there is a problem, then he, Major Huang and Colonel Muntag will back out."

"The Russian's will not interfere General." Che promised.

Murdock held his breath as he sensed the two Asians turn and head back towards the door. Closing his eyes he waited to be discovered. Nothing in his life had prepared him for the fear of discovery that he was facing now. Images of what would happen once recaptured flashed before his eyes, one after the other more painful than the last.

"If all goes as planed Major, the American's will be helplessly addicted within a month's time." Cho boasted as he passed through the doorway. "Victory will be ours."

After the door closed, the Agents remained in place for several seconds, listening to the sound of footsteps on each step. Valerie was the first to move. She reached out and grabbed Murdocks hand and dragged him towards the area in the room that Cho had indicated when talking about the hole in the floor. "They gave us a way out." She whispered flatly, "It would be rude of us not to take it."

Part 11

The first stop for Smith after returning to base was to see Colonel Morrison. The visit was two fold, first to check back in and report the results of their last mission, and second it was to discuss the reorganization that had been proposed before he left. The first issue was a formality, since he had sent Morrison a message detailing the results of the mission once he had gotten to DaNang.

When he entered Morrison's office, Smith stood at attention to wait for the Colonel to acknowledge him. There was an uneasy professionalism between the two officers. Neither liked the other, but both were professional enough to manage to work together. There were, however, times when Morrison took advantage of his rank to let Smith know where he stood in the working arrangement, and this was one of them. Smith on the other hand, used these minor indications of dislike to his advantage. Each and every time Morrison played his game of "I'm in charge", Smith would respond with utmost professionalism and military bearing. In the end Smith won the game every time, Morrison would always be the one to falter.

This time the wait was short, and after only a few minutes Morrison spoke. "Congratulations on the success of your mission Smith." He said without looking up.

"Thank you sir." Smith replied stiffly. "I'll pass the congratulations on to my men."

"You coddle your men Smith." Morrison stated as fact.

"I prefer to call it building teamwork, sir." Hannibal replied with a hint of a grin.

"Whatever." Morrison said shuffling paperwork on his desk. "I've received word back from the higher ups regarding your request to stay with your unit when the reorganization takes place with the special operations teams."

"And?" Smith said with interest.

"Your request has been granted." Morrison grumbled. "It seems that your success rate warrant's keeping you in the field."

"That's good to hear, sir." Smith replied with a larger grin.

"Effective immediately our special operations units will be divided into A-Teams made up of 4 to 6 men. A Captain will lead all teams but yours."

"I've already decided on the members of my team Colonel." Smith informed him, "All members except for my supply officer."

"I'm sure you have Smith." Morrison muttered under his breath as he shuffled through his paperwork and lifted a folder for Smith to see. "With your reputation of selecting the dregs of the Army for your units, I've pulled a list of potential candidates for your supply position." Morrison tossed the folder on the edge of his desk. "I'm sure you'll find the appropriate criminal element you need on that list."

"Thank you sir, I'll review the list immediately." Hannibal added cheerfully. Smith knew what Morrison was trying to do by pre-selecting the men. Smith grinned. His men were unique, creative, and had just needed a chance to be respected for their talents in order to weld them into a team.

Morrison watched Smith pick up the folder. "You will inform me when you've made your selection?"

"Of course Colonel," Smith responded as he flipped through the list, noting that most of the men compiled were destine for prison. 'When someone hands you broken eggs you make an omelet.' He thought to himself. "If permitted I'd like to go down to the brig to interview each of the candidates." Smith said with a twinkle in his eye.

Morrison looked at him, momentarily shocked into silence. He hadn't told Smith where the men were located. "Of course." He finally said.

"This is crazy," Murdock hissed as they slipped out of the warehouse just before dawn.

Valerie glanced over at her partner, "Shut up or we'll get caught."

Together they raced away from the building and dived into the tall grass beyond the reach of the lights that offered security for the building. After pausing a moment, Valerie began to crawl south, using the grass for cover. Murdock wondered what Valerie's plan was, but figured following her was his only choice.

The Captain heard the water before he saw it and after crawling for a few more moments, he noticed that the ground was becoming moist. Hurrying forward, he tapped on Valerie's ankle. When she turned back, he pointed to the direction of the water. She nodded and crawled back to him. "They should have a boat of some sort around here." She whispered.

"And if they don't?" Murdock whispered back.

"We slip into the water and drift south until we find one." She replied in a hushed whisper.

"This gig is already pretty hot." Murdock said softly, "I say we slip into the water and avoid pushing our luck."

Valerie paused to consider Murdock's suggestion, and finally agreed that he had a point. "Okay."

Murdock nodded and started moving through the thickening grass to the waters edge. When the soil gave way to shallow water, the two agents heard shouting from the bank of the river north of them. "Run," Valerie snarled as she rose up from her hands and knees.

Right about the time the adrenaline began flow through both agents preparing them to cope with the danger they were in, they heard the sound of rifle fire. Murdock reached out and grabbed Valerie's wrist as they stumbled through the deepening water. When Valerie tripped into the water, Murdock dragged her along, and she in turn did the same for him.

The shouts from behind them grew closer, which urged Murdock and Valerie to move faster. "We're dead." Murdock called out as the bullets plucked at the water around them.

"Not yet!" Valerie gasped out, "Keep going!"

When the water reached Murdock's waist, the flow of the water pulled on their clothing, forcing them south as they pushed further towards the center of the river. "Time to swim!" Murdock called as he dived in, taking Valerie with him.

Underwater and at the mercy of the current, Murdock struggled to keep his grip on Valerie. 'I'm in over my head,' the pilot's mind reminded him.

After reviewing each potential candidate suggested by Morrison, Hannibal had been able to make his decision, sight unseen. Unwittingly, Morrison had in fact provided an opportunity to select an individual with special forces training that did in fact hold all the criteria Smith looked for when recruiting for his elite teams. Unlike his fellow commanders, Smith looked or the unique. He needed men who could think outside the box of regulations and standard army thinking and make the impossible possible. Over the years, Smith had discovered that his ideal of a perfect soldier often found themselves at odds with the rest of the Army. Smiling to himself, Smith picked up the folder containing the information on the individual he had selected, then headed out of his hooch towards the brig.

Entering the brig with an air of authority, Smith headed straight for the Sergeant behind the only desk in the building. The young man looked up, then stood respectfully and snapped to attention. "Sir, what can I do for you?" He said quickly.

"At ease soldier," Smith said, "I'm here to see one or more of your prisoners."

The Sergeant nodded, then turned around to pull a key ring from the wall. "What's his name sir?"

Smith pulled the folder he had tucked under his arm and opened it. "Peck, Lieutenant Templeton Peck." The Colonel noticed the sudden stiffening of the Sergeants posture. "Something wrong soldier?"

"No sir," The Sergeant responded quickly, "We've just had a few problems with Peck. Nothing major, just annoying little things."

"Such as?" Smith asked with curiosity.

The Sergeant looked uncomfortable, and reached up to nervously scratch the back of his head. "He slips out sometimes," the man finally said, then added quickly, "But he always comes back."

Hannibal couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. "He comes back, huh?"

"That's right sir," the Sergeant confirmed.

"His file says that he's in for theft." The Colonel said glancing at the information sheet on Peck, "Does he say what he's out doing when he checks himself out of the brig?"

"Mostly to get coffee sir," the Sergeant explained with embarrassment, "He says the coffee here is like mud."

"Well does it?" Hannibal asked with a deadpan expression.

"Does it what, sir?" the Sergeant asked uncomfortably in confusion.

"Does the coffee taste like mud?" Hannibal asked with a glimmer in his eyes.

The Sergeant looked at the floor, "Yes sir, it does."

Hannibal chuckled, "Take me to him, Sergeant."

Ltcol Smith followed the young man through a door, then down a hallway, until finally arriving in front of an empty cell. Smith raised an eyebrow, "I guess he's out for coffee."

Several miles down river from Cho's supply warehouse, two weary agents pulled themselves up onto dry land. Murdock and Valerie took turns coughing up the water that they had swallowed during their narrow escape.

"You okay?" Murdock asked between coughs.

Valerie coughed a few times, "No I'm not," she snapped.

Immediately alert, Murdock edged closer to his partner, "What's wrong?" He asked between coughs. "Did you get hit?"

"I'm cold, wet, and totally, completely pissed off." she growled while pounding a fist into the ground. "Intelligence really screwed up on this one."

Murdock chuckled weakly as he relaxed, "Better pissed off then shot." The pilot rolled over on his back and took a deep breath, "I don't believe we made it out of there."

Valerie mimicked Murdock and took a deep breath when she rolled over to rest on her back, "It's not over yet. We still have to get back to report."

"Any plans one how we're going to do that?" Murdock asked with a sign that indicated that he wasn't entirely pleased with thoughts of rushing back into a mission mindset so soon.

"Maybe," Valerie said softly, "A couple miles south there's a small fishing village and we should be able to lift a boat to get us down the river into Laos. There should be someone waiting for us once we cross the border.

Murdock yawned and admitted, "Sounds better than walking."

Valerie reach out and slapped Murdock's arm. "Come on, we have to get going. We need to be in position if we want to get a chance to borrow a boat."

Murdock frowned as he rolled over on his belly and pushed himself onto his feet, "Fine by me."

A few hours and several miles later, Valerie and Murdock crouched down to watch movement along the shore of the fishing village, Valerie had spoken of earlier. Those little boats won't get us too far." Murdock observed.

"Damn it, this is not what was suppose to be here." Valerie cursed.

"Intel again?" Murdock asked.

Valerie nodded tightly.

"Well," Murdock said slowly, "We could swipe one of these smaller boats and make our way down river and look for something faster."

"Yeah," Valerie agreed, "I guess that's our only choice. I guess we should get a little rest and wait until after dark to go, maybe if we're real lucky something bigger will come in after a day of fishing."

Murdock snorted, "At what point in this little mission have we been lucky?"

Valerie gave the pilot a hostile glare, "Just shut up, okay Murdock, just shut up."


	3. Chapter 3

Originally written under my nic: Murdock's Doc

* * *

><p>.<p>

After sitting in a dark corner of Lt. Peck's cell for fifteen minutes, Colonel Smith was beginning to wonder if the wandering prisoner would be returning at all.

As if on queue, Hannibal could hear the sound of someone walking down the hall, and he watched with amusement as a young man juggling two coffee cups and a newspaper stopped in front of the cell and bumped the cell door open with his hip. From his hiding place, Smith silently watched the young man set the coffee cups on the floor then toss the newspaper on the bunk before turning his attention to the now open cell door. After closing the cell door, Peck reached up and grabbed something tucked on the top cross bar.

When the Lieutenant bent low to work on the lock, Hannibal cleared his throat. "Ah-hem"

Peck dropped the thin piece of metal in his hand and spun around. For a brief instant, surprise registered on his face before he covered it with a look of calm. "Who are you?" he asked after clearing his own throat.

"Heard this was the best place to get a cup of coffee," Hannibal said with a grin. "Name's John Smith, CO of one of the Special Forces A-Teams, and I'm looking for a supply officer. Your name came up."

Peck cocked his head to one side in confusion. "You're kidding right?" He asked as he looked around the room for MP's. "This is a joke right?"

"Deadly serious Lieutenant." Smith said, "The A-Team Special Forces are reorganizing into smaller units to perform more specialized missions, and I need an Acquisition specialist."

"Yeah, so why me?" Peck asked as he picked up the two coffee mugs and offered one to the Colonel. "In case you haven't noticed, I have a few issues that prevent a unit assignment."

Smith tapped Pecks record on his knee and chose to ignore Peck's comment about the difficulty of getting assigned to a unit from the brig. "You have an interesting record Lieutenant. Take the reason you're in the brig this time as an example. Theft of four cases of toilet paper from the General's personal stock." The Colonel paused and gave the young thief a look that revealed that he thought the charge was humorous. "Obviously your not a run of the mill petty thief, especially since the evidence is suspected to have appeared in the enlisted stocks?"

"They have no evidence and no one willing to testify to that fact." Peck asked defensively.

"Strangely enough, that's about the same with all your cases, no one sees anything " Smith replied with a grin. "It reads like the record of a modern day Robin Hood."

Peck flashed a brilliant smile, "It does, doesn't it?"

Hannibal leaned forward and stared intensely at the younger man for a moment, almost as if he was looking into the man's soul. The Colonel liked what he saw. "Since they can't make a case against you, they will eventually have to drop the charges." Hannibal pointed out. "I can make your release happen a lot faster if you're interested in joining my team."

Peck watched the Colonel for some tale tell sign that he was being thrown to the wolves for annoying the base CO. He found none, so he decided a direct approach, "So is this my punishment? Compulsory assignment into one of the most dangerous units in Nam?"

"Nothing is compulsory Lieutenant," Smith replied, "You're being offered an opportunity as a result of your special talents, nothing more."

Peck sipped his coffee and considered everything he had heard about Colonel Smith and his units. Sure, he had heard things, lot's of things. Smith was said to ride his men hard, but in turn he took care of them. "So what exactly will I be expected to do?" Peck finally asked.

"I expect you to take care of the unit's needs," Hannibal said flatly.

"Mission only?" Peck pressed.

"No," Hannibal clarified, "All needs. We work hard, and I expect them to be taken care of."

A sparkle appeared in the young man's eyes. "In order to take care of a unit's needs, there may be occasions when some higher ranking officer does without."

The corner of Smith's mouth rose slightly, "Then we'll deal with the occasion when it arises."

Peck approved of the answer. "Are there any other duties expected of me?" Peck asked.

"You'll be second in command of the unit, and will be expected to fulfill those duties in the field as well as on the base." Hannibal replied. "You have special forces training, so you should be able to handle it."

Peck sipped his coffee again and considered the irony of going from the brig to second in command of one of the most elite units in the Army. It was an appealing thought. "Alright Colonel, you have yourself a Supply Officer."

Shortly after nightfall, Murdock and Valerie slipped into the water and headed towards one of the fishing boats tied up near the shore. Both agents moved slowly, letting the current of the water take them towards the boats.

Murdock reached the boat first, and easily slipped his long lanky frame out of the water. Reaching out a hand, he helped to pull Valerie in behind him. "Go untie the rope and I'll see how this puppy moves." Murdock whispered as he shuffled towards the back of the small boat that couldn't be more than fifteen foot long. Valerie nodded and headed towards the ropes.

Moments latter, the boat was drifting free, and they let it drift southward away from the village before they took any active roll in the boat's direction.

"You figure out how to work this thing yet?" Valerie asked as she approached the back of the boat.

Murdock was bent low, working with what looked like an oddly shaped paddle, and he didn't look up when he replied. "Looks like poles for shallow water, and some sort of steering paddle for the deeper water where the currents are stronger." He said while in deep concentration.

In the limited light from a partial moon, Valerie looked around the boat as if cataloging the contents. "This thing doesn't have any cover so we should only travel at night," she said quickly, "Nothing personal, but with those round eyes of yours, you'll stand out like a sore thumb if we're seen during the daylight."

Murdock grunted as he lifted the steering paddle into place over the back of the boat. "Maybe I can take cover under the nets while you guide the boat during the day," the pilot suggested as he worked to fasten the paddle firmly onto the boat.

Valerie nodded even though Murdock couldn't see the action. "I'll take a look around the boat to see if there is something we could use besides the poles and net."

"Something to eat and drink would be nice." Murdock commented as he finished attaching the paddle.

Valerie's stomach growled in response. "Had to mention that didn't you." she grumbled while she poked through items scattered though the boat.

"Sorry." Murdock said with a touch of guilt when he realized that neither of them had eaten since the day before. Water wasn't really an issue since they had both swallowed at least a gallon of it during their river escape. Murdock heard Valerie sign deeply, and he figured it would be best to let the topic drop. "I'll get us in the middle of the river. " Murdock offered softly.

Nodding in agreement, she turned to her partner. "Can't seem to find anything but one hat, a net, and the poles," Valerie said with disappointment.

Grabbing the end of one of two poles in the boat and dropped the other end of the pole in the water. "It should only be a day or two travel out of China," Murdock asked hopefully as he stood up to begin using the pole to push towards the center of the river.

"If we go by what Intel says, it should only be a day," Valerie snorted, "But I don't want to rely of anything Intel had to say at this point."

Murdock remained silent since he had absolutely no experience about the company he had been drafted into serving. What he did know, was that his partner was upset by the bad information that had been given to them. "Why don't you get comfy and get some sleep." Murdock suggested, once again changing the subject. "No matter how many days we're looking at, this is going to be a long hard trip and we'll need our rest."

Several hours later, the Captain was relieved to hear the relaxed breathing of sleep coming from the nets. Left with only the occasional sounds of night birds, Murdock finally had the opportunity to take stock of the situation he was in. The injury to his arm ached, and the duck tape support had been lost during the trip into the river; his head pounded from the rifle butt to his noggin; and various scrapes and scratches covered his body from either debris in the river or brush along the river bank. To top off his misery, he was painfully hungry.

'I'll just tell em I can't do any more missions." Murdock thought to himself. 'Right, and within 5 minutes you'll be in a brig facing a court-martial for falsifying records.' He argued back in his mind. He was trapped in this mess and he could see no way out, now or in the future.

As the night passed, the pilot could feel the currents pushing the boat a bit faster, and for most of the night he was forced to put a little more effort into steering. Just before dawn, he turned back to his thoughts. 'Some super sleuth you turned out to be, you're just a kid in over your head.' Murdock scolded himself. Something in the sky caught his attention and he watched a shooting star blaze through the sky only to burn out into nothing after creating a brilliant display. 'That you up there, a blazing star that burns out quickly.'

"Murdock?" Valerie said softly as she began to , "It'll be dawn soon, I better take over."

Valerie took over the steering after a few awkward moments where both she and Murdock took a few moments to answer natures call over the side of the boat. As Valerie settled herself in at the back of the boat with a firm grip on the steering paddle, Murdock settled in under a heavy cover of nets.

"Can you see me Valerie?" Murdock asked as he settled in under the nets for the day.

Valerie took her time scanning the area where she knew Murdock hid and she finally confirmed his concealment. "Can't see you at all, I'll check again when the sun is fully up." She looked east at the brightening horizon then turned back to the pile of nets. "Are you comfortable?"

Murdock didn't answer right away, instead he attempted to come up with an answer that wouldn't worry Valerie more than needed. "Ah, it's not really all that comfortable, but it will be alright." He finally replied, and the second he did his mind called out 'Liar, you feel like you're in a waffle press."

"If it gets to be too much for you, let me know and I'll head for a place to hide for the day on the shore." Valerie said with a hint of concern.

"Will do," Murdock said from beneath the pile of nets, but deep down, he knew he wouldn't say a word no matter how bad it got. Thoughts of the drugs that could already be on their way south reminded him why he needed to get back. The information they brought back would save lives.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Hours passed, and the heat under the nets rose with the sun. Murdock felt the sweat pouring off his body, a fruitless attempt by his body to cool his rising temperature. While he was suppose to be sleeping, the heat and the feeling of being squashed under the heavy nets kept his mind from getting any rest, until he passes out from the heat and dehydration in the early afternoon.

When Murdock woke, it was dark and the nets had been moved off him. As his foggy mind tried to figure out what was going on when a small amount of water splashed in his face. "Raining?" He slurred out.

Valerie appeared in his line of vision, "Are you alright?" She asked with concern.

Murdock struggled to roll on his side, "Fine, just sleepin." The Captain lied.

"Uh-huh, sure you are." Valerie said skeptically. "You wouldn't respond when I told you that the sun had set and I couldn't wake you up after I got the nets off you."

"What's going on?" Murdock asked as he struggled to get some control over his body.

"Sun's been down for over an hour," Valerie said quickly, "And I'm pretty sure that we should reach Laos by dawn."

"Lemme freshen up, and I'll take over." Murdock said a voice a bit steadier than he felt.

"You sure?" Valerie said with a yawn. It had been a long day, and the lack of food was beginning to wear her down.

"Trust me," Murdock said as he half crawled to the side of the boat to get to the water. After splashing the water up into his face several times, Murdock drank several handfuls which revitalized him slightly. "Okay, lets switch off so you can get some sleep."

On the first night after release from the brig, Lieutenant Templeton Peck strolled confidently through the compound towards his new CO's office. Everything he had been ordered to do had been done, and for the first time in a long time, Peck felt proud. Stepping into the Headquarters building, Peck weaved through the desks and headed towards the last remaining occupant in the building.

"Everything's done Colonel." Peck said with a smile.

Hannibal leaned back in his chair and grinned. "BA and Ray are ready to go?"

Peck nodded, "Yes, sir. I had a little trouble arranging transport." He said nervously, "Our drops going to be a couple clicks short of where you wanted to go, but it was the best I could do."

Smith nodded. "We have that problem more times than I care to think about," Smith said as he rose out of his chair. "I'm working on getting permission for a pilot to be attached to the unit, but the General is still skeptical about it happening anytime soon. There's a shortage of pilots here in Nam, so he's not sure that the top brass will approve."

"Too bad," Peck said while thinking of the problems he had finding someone to fly the unit north. "It would sure save a lot of time, and although I have no first hand experience, I imagine that it could make a difference on the success of a mission."

"That it could kid," Hannibal said putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Now what do you say we go get a little experience in the field under your belt."

"Oh I'm really looking forward to this Colonel," Peck said sarcastically.

Hannibal smiled, "Sure ya are kid, sure you are."

"Val?" Murdock called softly as he fought to keep his eyes open, "Come on gal, I need a little help here."

Valerie shifted in her sleep, and woke slowly. "What?" She said half asleep.

"I think I'm checkin out on ya," Murdock said softly.

Lifting her head, Valerie could see that the sky had begun to lighten. It was near dawn. "Why didn't you wake me sooner." Valerie complained.

"Seemed so peaceful, didn't have the heart to wake ya." Murdock whispered in a distant voice.

"You need some rest," Valerie said as she quickly rose up from her makeshift bed of netting.

"Someone's coming." Murdock said softly as he pointed to a bobbing light heading towards them.

"Damn it." Valerie cursed as she turned towards the direction her partner was staring. Moving quickly as possible, she pulled Murdock from the paddle and shoved him on the floor of the boat near the nets. The light drew nearer as she struggled to pull nets over her partner to hid him. She was puffing hard by the time she finished and made it back to the paddle.

"Hey." Murdock complained from under the nets.

"Shut up!" Valerie snarled in a whisper as a larger more modern boat neared. "Keep your mouth shut or you'll blow our cover."

The larger boat slowed and pulled near the smaller boat. Valerie watched them suspiciously, but did her best to play the role of a peasant. A tall thin black man leaned over the rail of the larger ship and called out, "Anyone able?"

'Thank God," Valerie thought to herself, that was the code phrase. "Nine!" She called back happily as she headed to the pile of nets.

"You alone?" The man called to her as he tossed a ladder down over the side of the larger ship.

"No," Valerie called out, "Shadow twelve is with me." In less than a minute, Murdock was freed from the netting. "Our ride is here Murdock, do you think you will be able to get on board their ship?"

"Sure, I'm okay," Murdock said weakly as accepted Valerie's help to get to his feet. "Let's blow this popsicle stand and get on home."

Once on board the larger ship, Murdock and Valerie were taken down below for separate debriefings as the ship turned around and headed back the way it had come. This was the last leg of their mission, and once the debrief was over, the mission was over.

Valerie relaxed as she entered the room where she would be debriefed. 'All the comforts of home,' she thought to herself as she entered the comfortably furnished cabin. Murdock on the other hand entered an entirely different environment. Both agents were queried about their mission, and each detailed their version of the mission, including their capture and subsequent escape. Once they told their story, their interviewers asked questions to clarify specific points.

"Agent Murdock, how many guns did you estimate to be located in the warehouse awaiting shipment?" A short heavy balding man asked the Captain.

Murdock signed, "Can I have a glass of water please."

"We've told you before Agent Murdock, we can not allow you any comforts since it will tamper with the condition your found in once we return you into the Vietnam theater." A second interviewer stated impatiently, "Now please answer the question."

"Water first." Murdock insisted firmly.

Both interviewers looked at each other in frustration and the shorter of the two went to a cabinet and withdrew a bottle of water. Both interviewers waited as the Captain drank the contents of the bottle. Licking the last of the moisture from his lips, Murdock began to speak. "Cases held half dozen weapons, stacked three deep, ten wide, and twenty high, total of eight locations." Murdock said in a dry dull voice, "Total of twenty eight thousand, eight hundred weapons."

The short interviewer glanced over at the other one. They were both impressed. "How about ammo?"

Murdock signed, "Grenades, dozen a case, stacked five deep, five wide, ten high, total of 6 locations." Murdock answered, "Total of eighteen thousand. Rifle rounds, case contains twenty boxes of fifty rounds each, ten deep, twenty wide, eight high, total of 10 locations, sixteen million rounds total."

"Was there anything else in the warehouse?" The second interviewer asked.

"Mines, six per case, cases five deep, ten wide, five high, six locations, total of nine thousand." Murdock said as he mentally walking through the warehouse, "Rockets, three per case, three deep, five wide, five high, four locations, total of nine hundred rockets."

"Think Agent Murdock, was there anything else?" The short interviewer asked persistently.

Murdock weakly looked up at the interviewers, "Com gear, rations, and the drugs, I don't know the numbers, I didn't get a chance to examine them too close before getting hit on the head."

"Names, can you remember any names?" The short interviewer asked.

"Major Che," Murdock said dryly, "General Cho, but he's really the Vietnamese General Chao, a real scuzball. When Val and I were hiding up in the ceiling, Che and Chao mentioned something about a Lieutenant Thang coming to pick up the drug shipment."

"That's all?" The taller interviewer asked.

"Yeah." Murdock replied as he dropped his head on the table in front of him to get a little rest.

With that, the taller interviewer slipped out of the cabin. The shorter one folded his arms across his chest. "Do you understand that you can not speak of this with anyone, regardless of the situation." The shorter man said.

"Yeah, I know the deal," Murdock replied impatiently without lifting his head, "The mission never occurred, I never saw any of you guys."

"Once you crash landed your chopper, you had to leave due to VC overtaking the area. You hid and traveled south." The interviewer lectured.

"Ate bugs and drank dew collected on leaves, yeah, yeah, I know." Murdock supplied.

The taller interviewer entered the room with a bag which he sat down in front of the Captain. "Once you change back into your flight suit we'll arrange for a chopper to take you back."

"How far will I have to travel to find friendlies?" Murdock asked as he lifted his head from the table and absently began to peel off the tattered clothes he was wearing.

"No more than a day," The tallest interviewer said firmly, "We'll set you down in a clear zone so you shouldn't have to worry about VC."

Murdock nodded and continued to strip off the last of the clothing he wore. "Just make sure no one sees the chopper dropping me off." Murdock said as he slipped on the underwear and socks he had been wearing when he went down. "According to Val, you're Intel was a little off during the mission, and I don't want a repeat where I will be put into a bad situation that I can't explain."

"The area is clear." The shorter man reiterated as he helped Murdock pull on his flight suit.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"This area was suppose to be clear," Sergeant Brenner complained as he popped off a couple rounds into the jungle.

"I'm beginning to think we should take Intel and do the opposite." Smith said calmly as he turned to the soldier next to him. "Signal a retreat Ray."

One by one, Smith's four man team began to fall back. Slipping silently through the jungle, they regrouped fifty yards south of the point that they had encountered VC fire. As Peck and Smith crouched down to talk, BA and Ray stood nearby with their rifles ready. "How many do you think there are?" Smith asked Peck.

"No more than five," Peck responded, "I kept and eye on the position of the flashes from their guns."

Smith nodded proudly at his new XO, "That's what I figured too. They're probably just a patrol."

"Mean's this place gonna be overrun soon." BA added without turning his attention from the surrounding jungle.

"We can't afford that." Smith said thoughtfully, "The troops to the south are engaged in a different front. If VC gets through here, they'll be surrounded."

"What do we do?" Peck asked as he mentally calculated the odds of four men against an entire NVA platoon.

"Take BA's position," Smith said stiffly. "I think it's time to call in a little help."

Peck nodded and lowered his rifle at ready as he slipped in next to BA, who in turn dropped down to crouch next to the Colonel. BA hung his rifle over his shoulder and pulled the radio forward.

"Shhhh" Peck snapped as he heard something in the jungle ahead. "I heard something."

Ray nodded. "Let's go check it out," he said as he turned to alert BA that they were going forward. He wasn't surprised to find that BA had already heard. He had already dropped the radio on the ground in front of the Colonel and was taking position to guard.

Ray went left and Templeton went right. They both crouched down when they heard a twig snap directly in front of them. Both men brought their weapons up to fire at anything that came into view.

Murdock's heart was pounding so hard that he could hear each beat in his ears. 'Area's clear my ass,' he thought to himself as he stepped slowly through the jungle. He had been to the south of the last firefight, and was now heading towards what he hoped where U.S. troops. He heard a twig snap under his foot and he cringed. 'Pay attention you idiot, one more mistake like that and you'll be full of holes.' Murdock scolded himself.

A shadow came into view, and Peck pressed slightly on the trigger of his M-16 ready to fire. As the young Lieutenant watched the shadow through his scope, he noted that something wasn't right. 'Too tall,' he thought to himself, and he held his fire. "Hands in the air," he called out, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.

Murdock took another step and stopped short when a voice called out for him to put his hands in the air. Without hesitation, the pilots hands went up. "I sure am glad to see you guys," the Captain whispered when two heavily armed men stepped out from the brush a few paces in front of him.

Templeton and Ray stepped towards the pilot, their weapons still raised and ready to fire. Ray was the first to see the pilots face. "Hey, aren't you the pilot from Da Nang that went missing last week?" He asked in a whisper as he lowered his rifle.

Murdock nodded and said with a smile, "Captain H.M. Murdock, assigned to the Jolly Greens." Slowly he lowered his hands.

"Cut the chit-chat," Peck whispered harshly as he continued to scan the jungle around them. Something didn't feel right to him. "Let's get this guy back to the Colonel."

"Lieutenant is back," BA whispered. "Brought someone with him."

"Good," Smith said as he tucked the handset back into its pocket on the radio pack. "Chopper's coming for us, and the Jet's will follow to clear this area out." Smith looked up as his men returned, when he spotted the pilot he smiled. "Good to see you Captain."

"No where near as glad as I am to see you Colonel." Murdock said smiling back.

Smith nodded. Although he was happy to see the pilot safe and sound, they had a time table to keep in order to be about of the area before the jets started pounding the jungle. "Okay guys, lets move, we have to get into position for our ride home."

The five men moved through the jungle south. No one said anything, but they were moving much slower due to the pilot. The Captain was pushing himself hard to keep up, but the events of the past six days had taken their toll on him. By the time they reached the edge of the clearing, Murdock was being pulled along by one member of the team or another. Even with the help, Murdock was still puffing like an old man.

"Choppers coming," The pilot said between gasps.

"I don't hear nutton," BA said looking to the sky.

"Fine," Murdock said dropping down to his knees in exhaustion. "Don't trust the pilot," snapped out over the buzzing in his head.

"I hear something too," Peck said kneeling down beside the pilot.

Murdock took a deep breath and jerked a thumb towards the Lieutenant. "Listen to the Face here, you can trust it."

The radio on BA's back crackled to life, "Apple Red Niner, pop your smoke."

Smith reached over and pulled the handset from the radio, "Roger that." The Colonel looked to Brenner, "Do it Ray."

The sound of a nearing chopper grew louder as the Sergeant pulled a pin on a small canister and tossed it into the open field. "They spotted us Colonel," Ray called out as he spotted the chopper turn towards the smoke. "We'd better get our asses in gear."

"Go," The Colonel called. He waited to make sure his men moved forward. When he noticed the difficulty the pilot was having, he called out, "BA, give the Captain a hand."

The big Sergeant reached down and grabbed the Captains right upper arm and yanked him up, "Colonel said go." He growled.

Murdock tried to pull his arm out of the Sergeants grasp. "I heard, I heard." Murdock complained as the bigger man roughly dragged him towards the clearing. The Colonel appeared on the Captain's left reached out to help drag the pilot along. Murdock was about to protest even stronger, but VC shouts from behind silenced him.

"Company coming," Smith called out as he and BA neared the chopper. Peck and Brenner immediately stopped in their tracks a few feet from the chopper, and brought their weapons up to fire as they turned around. "Cover us," the Colonel called out as he and BA passed through the other two men on the team.

Murdock cringed as two M-16's began firing on automatic, and he found himself lifted up into the waiting chopper. As the choppers pararescuman began to pull him further inside the chopper, the pilot saw the Colonel and big black Sergeant turn and provide cover for the two men further out as they retreated and ran for the chopper.

"Are you hurt anywhere Captain?" the pararescuman called out as Murdock watched the Colonel and his team work their way into the chopper. The enlisted man shook the Captain slightly, "Captain, are you all right?"

Murdock turned, "You're with Murray's team aren't you?" He asked breathlessly. When the Sergeant nodded, Murdock smiled then promptly passed out.

"Colonel Shipton, Murray just radioed in," Captain Jarvis said interrupting the Colonel's paperwork. "He's bringing in Captain Murdock."

Shipton looked up in surprise. "What? Is he okay?"

Jarvis nodded, "He says his crew thinks he's suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and a general lack of food, but other than that they think Murdock is going to be fine."

"Thank god." Shipton said with relief, "When are they due in?"

"About twenty minutes," Jarvis replied, "Medics are already on standby."

Shipton rose up from his desk, "Trumpet, do me a favor."

"What's that bossman?" Jarvis asked.

"Keep the news from Headquarters for a little bit, I'd like the Doc's to have a chance to take care of Murdock before Martin storms in to make the kids life miserable." The Colonel asked.

Jarvis nodded, "Already planed sir."

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"What the hell do you mean that Captain Murdock should be released for duty in a week?" Martin shouted at LtCol Shipton, "Why wasn't I notified that he was found? When did this happen?"

Shipton cringed as Martin shouted, but it was a small price to pay for giving his man a chance to get medical care before having to face someone who obviously didn't have the kids best interest in mind. "He was brought in yesterday afternoon sir with Colonel Smith's A-team."

"Smith," snarled Martin. His expression didn't hid much of his opinion regarding the Army Lieutenant Colonel.

"Yes sir," Shipton said as he noted that Martin's color turned a bit redder. "They found him while out on recon."

Martin stared at Shipton for a moment, then grabbed his hat and headed towards the door. "I'm going to see him," he called over his shoulder as he stepped outside. Shipton hurried after his CO.

Those who are active, have little patience for staying in bed even if there is a reason to do so. The pillow and mattress that seemed so comforting only hours ago, now caused an uncomfortable pressure on the points of the body that pressed the deepest into the padding. Even the sights, and sounds of the hospital that had at first seemed so interesting and in a way comforting, now grated on over exposed nerves. When the Doctor had said he was going to spend a week in bed, it sounded good at the time, but now he wanted out.

Murdock rolled over when a nurse came to check on him for what seemed to be the tenth time in the past hour. "Hey darlin', how about you check on one of the other guys while I catch a couple extra winks."

"Sorry, I came to check on you." the woman in white replied.

Murdock's eyes opened wide. That voice sounded familiar. He rolled over as quick as his aches and pains would allow and found Valerie staring down at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but she put a finger up to her lips to indicate that he should be quiet. "Good to see you Val." He whispered. "Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye."

"Happens all the time." She assured him, "But I figured since I was in the country and all, I'd stop in and make sure you were okay."

"That was nice of you," Murdock said warmly.

Valerie frowned and whispered, "Do me a favor, don't spread that around Okay. It would ruin me with the company." She checked the saline solution bag and then the tubing, "Anyway, I better get going. You take care of yourself, and good luck with your next mission."

This time Murdock frowned at the mention of another mission, "You too Val, take care of yourself."

Valerie nodded, and headed for the door. Before she reached the door it opened and Colonel Smith walked in. "Oh excuse me," she said politely.

Before she could slip out of the room Smith asked, "How's he doing nurse?"

Valerie stopped and glanced over at Murdock, "I think he's going to be okay."

Colonel Smith thanked her and sat down next to Captain Murdock's bed. "How are you feeling Captain?"

"Antsy to get out of bed," Murdock said with a smile as he watched the door close. He lifted his arm and nodded at the IV, and said "They been pumping me full of juices since I got here and I think the tank's full."

The Colonel laughed and the two men chatted for a few moments. When the Captain began to look a bit tired, Smith stood up and said, "Well, I just wanted to stop in and let you know that I'll buy you that beer I promised the next time I'm in Da Nang."

"You don't have to do that Colonel," Murdock said quickly as he lifted his drooping eyes a bit, "I'd say we're more than even now."

"Humor me," Smith said standing up and reaching out a hand. "I like to keep my promises."

Murdock reached up and shook the Colonel's hand. "Thanks Colonel, if you ever have need of a lift, give me a hollar."

"Be careful about what you offer Captain," Smith said with a grin. "I just might take you up on it."

Shortly after Colonel Smith left, Murdock closed his eyes and snuggled deep into the hospital bed. He ached from head to toe, but it was good to be back where he belonged. Just as he began to drift off into a peaceful sleep, Martin stormed in.

"Wake up Captain." Martin growled.

Murdock's eyes snapped open and he cringed slightly. "Colonel Martin?" He had expected Martins visit at some point, but even so, the anger in Martin's face scared the hell out of him for some reason.

Martin leaned closer and growled, "Lieutenant Colonel thanks to you." Murdock's eyes opened wide, and he clamped his mouth shut tight. "I want you out of this bed and back on the flight line Captain. I don't have enough pilots as it is and I sure as hell don't have the luxury of having a perfectly healthy pilot taking up space reserved for the injured. You got that?"

The door opened behind them and Shipton entered with Murdock's doctor. Shipton looked from Martin to Murdock and back again. Silently he cursed himself for taking the time to stop and bring a doctor along.

"Murdock say's he fine." Martin directed to the Doctor. "We need our pilots back in the air."

"Colonel's right Doc, I'm feeling much better now that I got a fill up and a good nights rest." Murdock offered hoping to appease Martin. "I'd really like to get back in the air."

The Doctor looked skeptical. "I'd like to see you gain some weight back before releasing you Captain."

Murdock patted his stomach, "I've always been a little on the skinny side Doc, I like it that way, honest."

The Doctor looked at Murdock's chart, "I'm not happy about letting you go so soon, but other than a loss of five pounds, dehydration, and several bruises, there is nothing seriously wrong with you."

"Then release him," Martin suggested in a tone that sounded more like an order.

The Doctor eyed both Martin and Shipton closely, then finally spoke. "I'll agree to releasing him, but I want you both to understand that I want you to take it easy on him for at least a week."

"I'll see to it Doctor," Shipton said quickly as he gave Martin a challenging look.

The Doctor gave Shipton a grateful look, then turned back to his patient. "I'll send a nurse in to remove your IV Captain." He said kindly, "And I want you to continue to drink plenty of liquids and work on gaining some weight back."

"You got it Doc," Murdock replied with a nervous look at Martin.

The look wasn't lost on the Doctor, "and I want you back here if you start to feel poorly."

When the doctor stepped out, Martin turned to Shipton, "I want him back on the duty roster immediately." With the order given, Martin didn't wait around for an answer.

Shipton took a deep breath and released it slowly after Martin was gone. Looking over at Murdock, he noted how pale the kid still looked. "I would have preferred you staying in the hospital a little longer."

"That's okay boss," Murdock said cheerfully, "I would rather be up in the air then laying in this bed."

Shipton nodded. He understood the feeling, as did most pilots. "I'm going to talk to your crew and let them know to keep an eye on you for a few days." When the Captain opened his mouth, Shipton raised a hand to silence him, "It's not a matter for discussion Captain."

Two weeks had passed since Murdock had been released from the hospital, before Smith returned to Da Nang. When the Colonel and his team arrived back from in country by chopper, one of the first things he wanted to do was to find Captain Murdock and buy him a beer.

He had left a message for Captain Murdock with the pilot that had flown them in, and Captain Jarvis had promised to make sure Murdock got the message once he got back to base. That was earlier in the day, and Hannibal now found himself waiting in the same bar he had been waiting in a month before.

In a deja vu relay, Colonel Smith watched Murdock's crew enter the bar, and like before they were complaining. Smith frowned, and hoped that he wouldn't hear a conversation similar to the last one.

"I swear to god, I'm going to start closing my eyes when we go in for pick ups," Trombetta complained, "Cap's been crazy with his flying since he came back. I don't know how he gets out of shit like he does."

"Hell if I know," Lieutenant Long said shaking his head, "I sure couldn't fly like that."

"At least Martin isn't causing any more trouble," Wendel added, "I think even he's impressed by some of the tight spots that Cap's got us out of."

"At least impressed enough to back off and start taking credit for his units mission," Trombetta added sarcastically as he sipped his beer, "I'll tell you one thing, the next time Cap starts singing, I'm ducking."

Lieutenant Long chuckled, and began to sing "You are my sunshine, my only . . ." but didn't get too far as his companions jabbed their elbow's into his ribs. "Hey!" He protested, "It works for Murdock."

"That's because he's crazy," Wendel snorted.

"But you gotta admit," Long said in defense, "He sure is saving lives." The three nodded.

Smith smiled as a plan began to form in his mind. HQ had given their blessing for the addition of a pilot into the special forces A-teams and based upon the way Captain Murdock's crew was talking, there was a strong possibility that he had found just the pilot he needed.

The door to the bar opened and Smith watched with interest as Captain Murdock stroll in. The younger man had changed in the two weeks since Smith had seen him last. He carried himself with a strange kind of confidence and there was a wild glimmer in his eyes. 'Yes', the Colonel thought with a grin, Murdock just might be exactly what he was looking for in a pilot. It would probably take time and a lot of favors called in to get him transferred, but he had a feeling it would be worth it.

Across the room a large black Sergeant elbowed a young blue eyed Lieutenant, then pointed toward the Colonel. "Look out man, Colonel's on the Jazz again." BA said in a low voice.

~fini~


End file.
